It's Complicated
by Ashes-to-Ink
Summary: He had never quite felt more frustrated. Updates every Monday and Friday.
1. 1 out of 46

Hello, hello! This is my first fanfiction ever for this series and pairing — _and_ my first yaoi fanfiction. So I am, like, mega nervous about it. Especially since I'm introducing my own version of Eddward in this. It's also my first fanfic in a _long_ time (literally years) so yeah, a lot of pressure on this baby, but I do hope that you guys end up liking it. Welp — *inhale* — here we go!

Extended Summary: He had never quite felt more frustrated. All that he wanted was to feel safe and validated — to stop hurting. _He_ had never quite felt more frustrated. He wished that he would just understand and see for himself that not everything leads to a painful outcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

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It's Complicated

 _1/46_

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His mornings were simple.

He would wake up promptly at 5:59am, just a minute before his alarm would go off. When the _ding-a-ling-ling_ of his cell-phone began but a minute later when he was finished rubbing some signs of sleep from his eyes, he dismissed the sound almost immediately. He thought for a second as to why he even had alarms, as his body had already been conditioned to wake up without it — but the extra security never hurt, he told himself. With a quick check at today's weather presented on his lock-screen, he finally stood from his bed.

He stretched. He awoke his drowsy, sleep-hazed muscles with his every move; bending back enough to create a bridge with his body, even, and holding that position for a few moments before dropping down fully onto the ground. Then he stood up, touched his toes, and did some T-stretches with his arms while rotating his waist.

Morning warm-ups done, promptly at 6:20am, he headed into his bathroom for a few moments to brush his teeth. He did not worry about bathing at that moment, having bathed late last night. It was in his bathroom that he then removed his matching silk top and bottom that formed his sleep-ware, put them in the clothing hamper, and replaced them with his morning "uniform" — dark gray jersey shorts and a white tank — before he headed back into his bedroom. His hair, long and black which he usually tied into a low ponytail when he slept, was briefly taken out of the tie only to be redone into a loose bun of sorts; just enough to get it all under his black beanie comfortably. He then put on a fresh pair of socks, slipped his socked feet into his most-used slippers, and then grabbed his phone and pulled his earbuds from inside his drawer, and connected them. At the same time from the drawer he pulled out his _fitbit_ fitness tracker and strapped the digital device to his wrist, turning it on.

He headed downstairs. It was dark, not a single light on and none of the curtains were pulled back enough to let in the sunlight. He didn't mind, though. He moved easily in the darkness of his house; he knew exactly how many paces it took him to get everything he needed. He could fully navigate his two-story home in the dark if he wanted, which he often did when he came home late.

At his front door, he swapped his slippers for his striped, fairly-worn running shoes. His earbuds were already in, and his running track playing. He grabbed his keys, exited his home, locked the door, and broke out into a jog.

He always started off his jogs light. Just enough to warm up his muscles even though he had just stretched. As he rounded the cul-de-sac and was headed onto a new street, he began to speed up. His running track was perfectly timed to put on more fast-paced music by the time he felt his muscles warmed.

As he increased his pace, his long legs moving faster, he made sure to adjust his breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He kept internal count. He would glance at the tracker every now and then, watching the number rise — making sure it was not too high or too low.

When he neared the park he slowly increased his speed. It was not long before he reached the off-sidewalk path that led into a set of woods nearby. That was where his speed was its maximum; so much so that he tended to forget to breathe just before he reached the path, in anticipation of it.

The wood and rocky dirt path were the most challenging to run. The obstacles alone made it a hardly traversed path, but it was his favorite. It seemed like every time he ran it, something had changed, making it unpredictable and challenging — the type of stimulation that he enjoyed, both mental and physical as he had to stay alert of whatever may arise in front of him while trusting his feet to navigate what was below him.

The path led to a set of hills that were tough to run up; especially in the morning when the dew made the grass slippery. He pushed through, though, and enjoyed the small burst in speed as he went down; making sure to not get over zealous and send himself rolling down the hill, like he had done a few times in the past.

He eventually approached the creek. He could see it from the distance and sped up. The river was a few meters wide, and about 3-meters deep. Despite a bridge having been built there for easy crossing after an incident occurred a few years back, he always attempted to jump it; always learning from his mistakes and creating new calculations to make it work. He always thought, _If I adjust the speed like so_ , or _If I angled my body similarly to_ — in an attempt to make the necessary changes to jump the river.

When his foot reached the farthest edge of the river's bank, he jumped.

One foot, his right foot, which was positioned forward, reached the opposite bank, and he immediately tried to use the ground as leverage to help him move his body forward and clear the river— except, he ended up slipping at the last second and began to fall into the river. He grabbed at the ground with his trimmed and polished fingernails, and used his upper body strength to pull himself up and out of the awkward position that almost had him in a full split.

He sighed deeply.

His left leg was fully wet, some of his butt and shorts, too. Yet he was used to it by now; as every other time that he attempted the jump, he failed then, too. He took pride, though, in how little of him had gotten wet — and with his latest failure sorted in his mind as a reference — a new variable to be changed — he continued on the beaten path like nothing had happened.

.

.

His running came to a stop sometime later — around 7:10am, the time on his cellphone told him. He stopped only because he had reached his destination: the house of his friend, Marie Kanker.

When he rang the doorbell, though, it was not Marie who opened the door, but Lee. Her long, overgrown curly red hair covered her eyes, as always, and a toothbrush was in her mouth. For a moment he felt the need to be bashful when he noticed that all she wore were her polka-dotted panties and a thin tank over her noticeable black bra, but, having succumbed to this many times before, he felt himself immune to — expecting, even — the situation.

"Salutations, Lee." He said; his voice sturdy and deep.

" _Marie_!" Lee immediately called out in the same shrill voice as always. " _Ya boyfriend's here_!" He sighed hearing her call him Marie's partner; but she had already walked off (most likely headed back to the bathroom to finish brushing) and in her place was not Marie, but May.

"Hey Edd!" May, unlike her sister Lee, tended to be cheerier in the mornings — and fully dressed in her white midriff and blue jeans. Although she had typically been seen as the less intelligent of the three sisters, she proved herself in being a knack at cooking and cleaning and doing almost all the chores of the house, which she was meticulous at, and he happily submitted himself to when she asked, "I made breakfast — wanna come in and have a bite?"

"I would be my pleasure, Lady May." He said, earning one of her infamous giggles. Stepping into the trailer, he made sure to wipe his feet on the welcome mat outside so as not to get any mess on the floors that he was certain May slaved over to clean. He even left his shoes at the door.

"You know, I always like it when you call me that." May said as she put herself back in front of the stove. He smelled her signature May's Monday Morning buttermilk pancakes. _"It's the guaranteed cure to the Monday morning blues!"_ She marketed them to her friends and family as. Which, to an extent, they were — often times he found himself more eager to eat those pancakes than to see Marie. Continuing, though, she said, "It makes me feel like a princess."

"Thou art far more beautiful than any woman of high blood Ic's eyes have beheld in all of eternity, Lady May." He stated as he sat down at the circular table in the kitchen. It was already laid out with mats and cups and plates and truly, ever truly, all that was missing were the pancakes.

May giggled happily at his words.

Waiting in the kitchen, he watched May work. She was attentive to the heat and had three burners going, all with different types of pancakes. Blueberry for Marie, raspberry for Lee, and banana for her; she knew that he never preferred one type over another, and so always just provided him a three-stack of one each. Despite this, her attention was pinpoint on ensuring that nothing burned — which it never did; including her long blonde hair, which almost went down to her knees and she currently had tied back into a high tail.

She flipped the cakes onto a separate holding plate and then distributed them on the main plates at the table.

He graciously accepted his three different pancakes and began to slather them in syrup — it was as he was doing this that Marie finally showed up. "Pancakes and Edd — yes!" She exclaimed as she skated over to the table on her rollerblades and plopped down in the seat with the plate of blue pancakes. She grabbed the syrup from his hands and nearly drowned her stack in them.

"Marie! Save some for me and Lee!" Cried May as she turned off all the burners of the stove and went to grab the bottle from her sister's hands.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Marie waved with a heavily bracelet-decorated hand. "There's more in the fridge, isn't there?"

"That's… not the _point_!" May said.

"So anyways, good morning Edd." Marie said after a mouthful of pancakes as she turned her head to him. "You look gorgeous as always — just finished your run?" She asked him.

"Affirmative."

"Attempted the jump?"

"Affirmative."

"Failed?"

"…On the affirmative, again."

She laughed.

"I don't know why you're obsessed with that jump, Edd." She said to him.

"What jump?" May asked as she finished cleaning off the stove.

"The one near the river. You know, where that little girl almost drowned."

"Ooooooh, right, right." May said; she took off the pretty and frilly apron she always wore over her clothes when she cooked, and finally went to take her seat at the table before beginning to add a (reasonable) amount of syrup to her pancakes. "That river's pretty big — can someone really jump that?"

"Edd _almost_ has." Marie stated. "Which of course isn't _good_ enough." She teased. He was about to say something when she added, "He's gotten better at it, but it doesn't seem like he'll be able to do it anytime soon."

"Allow me to kindly disprove your argument, dearest Marie." He stated, a small smile on his lips. "I believe that by the end of this month I will have jumped that river. It is a matter of statistics. The right day at the right time with the right calculations can guarantee that I jump it — and I have already had so many trials."

"And that day's coming _when_ , exactly?" She asked as she waved her fork around at him; a piece of pancake attached.

"Soon."

" _Right_."

Lee joined the table near the end of their meal. Out of all of them, Lee was the one who took the most amount of time in her appearance. She wore lipstick and probably concealer, although it was so masterfully blended into her skin tone that it was always hard to tell; and while he could never see her eyes, he was certain that they were done-up as well and looked spectacular. She always went out wearing appealing perfumes, and dressed in flouncy skirts and high heels and seemed to have a purse to go with every outfit; and always seemed to be the most visually and olfactory stimulating of the three, despite all of the sisters being attractive in their own right.

She chugged the pancakes down like they were nothing; eating them in less than half the time the rest of them did, and without a single drop of syrup.

May was still in the middle of cleaning the dishes when Lee added her plate.

"Like a garbage disposal…" Marie said to him under her breath after Lee left the room for a moment. While he found the comment witty (and very true to the sense of what just happened), he did not laugh, but he did smirk. "Anyways, Edd," Marie said as she crossed her legs; on them wore multicolored Band-Aids from various falls and scrapes, visible due to the thigh-length black shorts that she wore. There were matching Band-Aids on her arms. "Are you coming to my derby tonight?" She asked him, her chin resting in her hands and batting her eyelashes at him.

"I will have to check my schedule."

She scoffed.

"Come on Edd — I know you know your color-coated schedule like the back of your hand." She said to him. "Can you come or not?" She asked in a more serious tone.

He did not respond. Rather, he kissed her forehead — a promise.

"We will see."

She snorted.

"Dork."

.

.

He left the Kanker household fifteen minutes before it was 8am. The girls piled into Lee's restored pink T-bird; backpacks in the trunk among other things there, Lee driving, Marie in the passenger's seat, and May sitting on top of Marie's lap. (She used to sit between the two, on top of the car, but stopped after Lee got a pricey ticket for it.)

"When are you getting to school?" Marie asked him.

"I do not have to be in class until a quarter after ten — although I will arrive earlier to use the chemistry lab. I may see you then."

"Lucky." Marie said. "I'll see you then, then, no?"

"Perhaps." He remarked; she rolled her eyes at him. Yet, because she always did it, and had grown into a habit — a daily ritual, even — of theirs, he gave her a quick kiss goodbye on her lips.

Lee took off.

Thus he jogged back to his home. He opened the door, took off his shoes and switched to his slippers, and headed up the stairs and straight into the bathroom — where his towels and other toiletries were already kept.

He stripped and put his sweaty workout clothes in the hamper. He took off his beanie, and then untied his hair from the bun and let it flow down to just above his waist, where it ended.

Running his hands through it, he could feel the slight build-up of dirt and grime ingrained into his scalp, and was glad that he had about an hour to get ready so that he could properly dry his hair instead of letting it sit nearly wet under his beanie all day and hoping it would dry somewhat.

Getting into his shower, he turned on the water and dispensed himself a healthy dose of body-wash on his loofah (he abhorred soap), and scrubbed away; getting his back and under his feet and paying meticulous attention to his elbows — in a few weeks the winter air would hit and he would be more prone to alligator elbow, of which he would simply not let happen. Finally, when his body was rinsed down, he grabbed his daily-use shampoo and squeezed the bottle from the top of his head down to the tips of his long hair, and then from there, up, he began to scrub. The shampoo was sulfate-free, meaning it did not exactly create bubbles, but the natural oils in it (he was key on ingredients) helped his hair more and he did not quite care for the bubbles, anyhow. They were obtrusive.

Obviously it took a tad more shampoo to fully wash his hair and make him feel clean, but in the end, he felt refreshed with it all and stopped the water. It was easy to step onto the bathroom mat and reach for his towel, which faithfully hung on a rack to the side. He dried himself as much as he could in the bathroom with his body towel, and used a smaller one, for his hair, to initially pat dry and then wrap it up, and keep it in place inside the towel for the next few minutes while he put on clothes.

Brushing his teeth took but five minutes, as he was meticulous about dental hygiene. He brushed, rinsed, rinsed with mouthwash, and then flossed and did a final rinse. He grinned, inspecting his work; he was happy to have gotten his braces off last year, as that made it much, much easier to clean every little groove in his mouth.

As he always kept his body towel in the bathroom, he walked to his bedroom, which was next door to the bathroom, naked in but the towel his hair was wrapped up in, and his fuzzy slippers.

He reached his room and went in, and immediately dressed himself; silk boxers since that was easier to move in and he found more resistant to moisture and odor, a white tank for an undershirt, black, non-form-fitting jeans on top, a checkered blue shirt, and a black-strapped watch that he got as a birthday present from his parents some time back. Of course, he had made sure to put on plenty of lotion before his clothes. Then finally, it came down to doing his hair.

It was around 9am when he started on his hair. He removed the towel gently and shook out his hair, which was now slightly wavy from being dryer. He hung the towel for a moment on a separate hook in his room, and then went through his hair with his fingers; gently detangling it. He used to use combs and brushes for it when his hair was shorter, believing that to be the only way, but combs and brushes pulled out hair and his fingers were more flexible and could easily adjust to knots and other forms of friction.

When that was done, he got his blow-dryer, plugged it in, and set it to cool (because heat damaged hair) and bent over as he moved the dryer from the top of his head, down to the tips of his hair. He dried as much as he could; enough to feel safe about tying it up and letting it sit in his beanie — which was exactly what he did after he put his blow-dryer away.

As a final touch, he grabbed his trusty tube of _Chapstick_ with marketed 8-hours of hydration, and made sure his lips were nice and covered. He also popped in a mint or two.

At 9:16am, he was fully prepared for school, and headed out of the house. He grabbed his usual (cell-phone, earbuds, and keys), and switched to a different set of sneakers downstairs; he brought the sneakers down from his room after putting on his socks, but did not put them on until he reached the tiled floor at the end of all the carpet in his home. After the sneakers were on, he left his house, locking the door behind him.

For a gift, some time ago, his parents had bought him a car; saying that it was a reward for keeping his GPA above the standard 4.0 (it tended to fluctuate between 4.3 and 4.2, but over all, it never sunk down to 4.1 or 4.0, which was what mattered most to his parents). They had wired some money directly to his bank account and told him to get himself a car (with certain specifications, of course) and he did as such; an eco-friendly, "safe" car just like they wanted sat in his garage driveway — a bright silver in color with white leather seats in order to attract as little sunshine as possible.

Unlocking it, he sat down and put on his seatbelt, and then hit the push-to-start button. With the car on, so did his favorite radio podcast boom from the speakers, and he was well on his way to class.

.

.

Walking into the school, the hallway was empty. As expected, however, since it was the end of second period / start of third when he got there at 9:30am. He took his time walking to his locker, and from within retrieved one of the three things in there — his backpack. It was a habit of his to finish all of his homework before he left the school, and since he owned PDF versions of all the textbooks he physically had for the in-person classes, there was no need to take his backpack with him home, at all. Yet at school he walked around with his backpack and took with him the textbook needed for the class he would be attending; but both of his textbook-needing classes were after lunch, which would not be for a while.

He made his way to the chemistry lab, then. It was empty but the door unlocked, and he went in and turned on the lights. He then sat at his favorite spot; near the window that never fully closed and would allow him to lift open more, near the back of the classroom, a small distance away from the wall of cabinets where all the chemistry materials were held.

He sat and took out a notebook from his backpack, and flipped to the latest page. On it was his latest, balanced chemical reaction. He was aiming to create a spectacular effect — a pet project of his for a few weeks now, that struck him in the dead of night (when "genius" tended to happen) and he immediately got down to writing the basics of.

For the past few weeks he had found that the reaction in his dream which he got from mixing the chemicals together, was not so easily done in his real life — but he was determined to make it happen.

He spent the remainder of third period re-measuring ingredients and re-testing. Failures, all of them, just like the jump over the river had been that morning.

He gave a deep sigh at the sound of the bell signaling fourth period — it came after he finished cleaning up his usual mess and was scrubbing his workstation down with disinfectant. He would have another go at it later on. He exited the lab and made his way to his AP World History class. Despite the fact that he already knew the material for the day, he simply could not be late. He's had perfect attendance for quite a while and the only reason he did not show up until the time he did was because it was not requested of him, nor would it reflect badly on his attendance. There was no point to being there promptly at 8am — not for him, with his official class schedule.

In his history class, he took his usual seat next to Lee. Lee had proven herself to be quite academically gifted some time back, and placed high enough in exams to be put into some AP classes for certain subjects. While she was not the only person that he personally knew that was in the class (Nazz and Johnny, and some folks from the academic clubs that he had joined in past years, were there too), she was the one he enjoyed sitting next to, most; and even though she would not admit it, she enjoyed him most in the class since her other options were simply not the most desirable in her opinion — as she had said, they did not know how to have fun, while at least he would crack a smile at her jokes every now and then.

Plus, it helped that they already socialized on a friend-level nearly every day.

The teacher came in sometime later and began discussing issues of immigration for the topic that day. Mass immigrations have taken course throughout history in various regions of the world — it was nothing new, and the causes were always similar. There was something to learn from that, he supposed.

During class, though, since he already knew the material, he focused on Lee — specifically, her handwriting. Her big, calloused hands wrote the prettiest script that looked almost like an art form to him — it was calligraphy in his opinion, rather than the standard form of writing. He always enjoyed watching the loops, and in the back of his mind, continuously debated how such a girl like Lee could develop such beautiful handwriting. She did not seem like the type, especially during their childhood. Yet she, like him, had changed much over the years.

"My ass is killing me…" He heard her mumble under her breath, to no one in particular. "These seats are shit."

He held himself back from grinning; the contrast that Lee provided was always nice.

.

.

His next class was actually a gym period.

He, in all truthfulness, loathed gym. Not for the physical exertion, which he truly did manage to enjoy now that he was older and grown, and able to push himself to new limits. No. What he hated about gym was the filthiness of it all. He was not fond of reused materials unless they were properly recycled, and since he knew little of the personal hygiene of others, he was not too keen on touching anything that others may have touched or put their feet on, without some sort of barrier and insurance. Then, there was the _sweat_. He wished that gym was one of the classes he could have been exempted from; but the Board of Education required four years for graduation, no exceptions unless a physical restraint was the cause.

Yet as much as he loathed the gym floor and equipment, the locker room was his most hated spot. The bodies were suddenly closer and in a tighter-packed area — it was why he always rushed to get there quickly and change as fast as he possibly could, before the bodies came in waves.

He was changed into his gym uniform (with his beanie still on, of course) and out of the locker room in a matter of minutes. He then went to join the line of stretching students. It was the third week of classes, and today they were to do physical assessments for their first major grade. Quite frankly, he found it ridiculous that a class that should be pass or fail now had letter grades, and that a student could be deemed a "failure" if their personal physical performance did not reach the course standards. Health was a very personal matter, after all.

When the rest of the coed class was present, the assessments began.

He had no issue with the five minutes of jogging (it was like crawling to him), until he found himself getting competitive with the other members of the class that were at the front of the pack. He had never been much of a physically competitive person before, but in his latest years of life, he found he could not deny the thrill of going up against another physical person on a different platform — a different set of skills and muscles.

He had kept his pace relatively slow to what he usually preferred, but stepped it up when he found some members of his class to be pulling ahead of him; he was not secure in himself until he had passed them all and leading until the very end.

After jogging came pushups, of which he completed over 50; he could go longer, of course, but felt it not to overdo himself just yet. There was more. After pushups came burpees, which certainly got his blood pumping with a combination of upper and lower body resistance. Finally, to whine down, there was a stretching assessment; a ruler was attached to a cardboard box, and the box put against the wall, and the student rested one foot against the front of the box and got three tries with their hands put together, to reach as far as they could and hold the position for three seconds. He did well on that, as well, reaching just past twelve, quite comfortably, on both feet. It left him feeling confident.

They were dismissed and he hurried to claim his clothing from within his gym locker, and rushed into one of the only stalls in the room that were private. Besides being shy about his body in the presence of others, he did not enjoy seeing so much nakedness in one sitting — not to mention the topics of interest tended to be deplorable and nothing that he found stimulating.

"So I heard—"

He snorted at the unintelligent conversation; gossip was always a favorite pastime of the males in the locker room, and he quickly tuned it out as he focused on quickly washing his body down with some of his travelling body-wash — ever careful to not get anything above his neck wet and to use a smaller washcloth when it came to cleaning his face and the tighter spots — and then drying in a separate towel that he would later take to his car and spread out from within, to fully dry.

He dressed in his choice outfit for the day, and exited the stall. He put the items that were not wet like his towel into the locker, sealed it, and then headed out of the locker room.

He enjoyed breathing the fresh air when he went out to his car to set the towel; that room was always so stifling.

.

.

"Hey sock-head, wait up."

The next class he shared with his best friends Eddy and Ed. Rather than an AP class, it was an elective, and the "Eds", as many people had taken to calling them at one point, had all decided before entering high school that they would make sure to keep their electives the same. They all knew — well, at least he and Eddy knew — that with high school came some drifting, so small things like sharing electives and going to one of their houses over the weekend to binge watch something on Netflix, played a big role in keeping them together.

"Salutations, Eddy." He said to the shorter male. "Greetings to you as well, Ed." He said to the tallest of the three of them.

"Hi Double-D!" Ed said enthusiastically.

While there was no denying that he had not just physically grown out of his childhood phase, the old nicknames that were tossed around quite often in reference towards him had seemed to be lost with the times, too — yet Ed and Eddy still called him by those old nicknames. Coming from them, it felt like assurance of their lasting friendship; how even though they have all changed in some way, shape or form, they remained friends.

"How have you two been today, so far?" He asked as they came into step with him.

"Meh. The usual." Eddy said as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"So then is it is safe to assume that you have been called to the Main Office at least once? Did they find out that you were already making bases for report cards?"

"Ssshhhhhh sock-head!" Eddy said as he turned to glare at him, with a finger come up to his lips. "You ain't gotta say it so loudly — and no. Not that. Ed here brought a chicken to school again and dumped it on me while he went to get it food or whatever."

Ed agreed that that was what he did. "Eddy was real nice Double-D. He held onto Chikita for me and protected her from the principal." He said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Eddy said, waving it off. "Next time just bring that thing food pellets or whatever, because I ain't running with a chicken under my shirt _again_."

"Eddy, chickens eat special chicken food. Not food pellets."

"Actually Ed, they do. Chickens tend to have a steady diet of hen pellets and water — among some other nutritional foods, of course. That is, when they are raised properly; nowadays most chickens are fed hormones to fatten them up. Typically, the hormones cause them to lay eggs in greater frequencies both time-wise and count-wise, and the larger chickens are then able to be sold for more money when it comes time to kill them—"

"Ah, Double-D! Don't talk about that!" Ed screamed as he placed his hands over his ears. Eddward let out a brief laugh.

"Sorry, Ed."

They reached their class. Eddward was the one to open the door for the three of them, and Eddy gave a nod of appreciation while Ed thanked him verbally. The Eds then took their seats at the front of the class; despite it usually being a habit of Eddy's to sit in the back where he could not be seen, for this particular class, he had chosen for them one of the tables in the front row for their self-assigned seats — specifically, in the very front-center of the room, for the clearest view of the board and teacher.

The Eds were very careful not to touch any of the equipment that was self-integrated into the tables. The saw, especially, had proven to be quite the piece of work that had almost chewed up the left hand of their teacher in the first week of class, last year, when they started the elective. Unbeknownst to them at the time, their teacher's hand was a specially-made prosthetic — lost to an accident many years ago. It had caused quite the fright, but with the mini-lesson, the teacher succeeded in teaching them the importance of safety around the equipment. (Albeit, also got across the point that he was maybe a few screws missing of a toolkit.)

Their backpacks were placed under their desks, in a hollowed-in spot specifically for backpacks and such. Ed took off the dark-green hoodie he was wearing and placed it around his waist. He, Eddward, took off his watch and placed it in his pocket. Eddy did not have any loose items or long-sleeved articles of clothing on him, so he sat in the middle of them waiting for the teacher.

Some five minutes later, the teacher finally arrived. Although, it was not their regular professor, with a comb-over and flannel shirt and work boots, but a substitute: a brown-haired woman dressed very similarly to their regular teacher, but with a tighter look than him, and her hair up in a tight bun. She had on special gloves and some makeup, and gave off an air that he felt was very similar to that of Lee: beautiful and strong.

"Good morning class." She said in a gentle voice. "My name is Alexis Makers — you can call me Miss Makers — and I will be your substitute for the next week for your woodshop teacher, Mr. Truman." She gave them all a smile. "I have your lesson plan for the week so let's already get started — go to the back and get your projects."

"I'll get it, I'll get it!" Ed exclaimed as he stood from his seat and went to get the three different projects for the three boys. Eddward wanted to help him, but before he could offer, Ed was already back to the table and distributing the projects.

A chicken coop for Ed, a catapult for Eddy, and a locker organizer for himself.

"Thank you, Ed." He said.

"Yeah, thanks." Eddy replied.

"You're welcome, guys."

When everyone in the class had gotten their projects, Miss Makers said, "Obviously I want you guys to continue working on them. This class _is_ pretty self-sufficient after all. In that time, though, I will be coming around to see how you're doing. Looking around, a lot of these look good… but they can always be _better_. Attendance will be taken through that."

After she said that, the room was abuzz with movement and the noises that came with chopping, cutting, and nailing wood.

During this class time, the three Eds were on the same level of skill, pinpoint accuracy, and dedication; after so many years of building different contraptions for Eddy's schemes when they were younger, they all found that they had a knack for building things with their hands; and when the opportunity arose to choose an elective for their junior year, it was Eddy that suggested woodshop. Since then, the Eds have become fans of the classroom and would look forward to it each day — it was a piece of their childhood brought into their modernity, and elevated to more than just scams.

"I can't wait to finish this." Eddy said as he began sanding down the wood of his catapult. It was rather simple and worked as basically as it could, but it was still impressive craftsmanship. "When I'm done, I'm gonna hook it up to my room and use it to toss myself snacks when I'm on my bed." He said with a grin.

Eddward laughed. "There are quite the number of calculations that properly go into that, Eddy. I hope you can see that."

"Well duh — but it's not like physics is so hard egghead." Eddy had surprisingly become good in the sciences, too; specifically, physics, with his biology and chemistry understanding increasing just a bit thanks to their tutoring sessions from time-to-time. It certainly stemmed from all the building and calculating they had to do as children.

"I'm gonna use mine to give Chikita a home at school." Ed said.

" _Good_." Eddy replied. "I swear there's a feather in my underwear and I can't find it…"

"What are you gonna use yours for Double-D?" Ed asked him.

"I will put it into my locker. Despite only having my backpack and textbooks in there, it could still be neater. Right now I am just tossing my backpack in, after all — I cringe every time."

"I still don't know how after all these years you've stayed a neat-freak." Eddy commented. "At least you stopped labeling everything in your house, though. That was annoying."

He, Eddward, laughed at the reminder of one of his old habits. He remembered very fondly the day he woke-up, and found all the labels in his house to be a tad too much. Taking them down, and keeping his labels centered on only essentials that needed labeling, had seemed to make his house less like a hospital room, and more like a home. He would not deny that he had also considered changing up all the white carpeting and wall colors, but went against it, knowing very well that his parents would not enjoy that. After all, despite having lived in the house by himself for many years, it still belonged to his mother and father.

"And you got a nice car too, Double-D." Ed said as he began putting on a base coat of color on the small, one-chicken coop.

"To be quite honest, even I had found that… gift from my mother and father rather surprising." He admitted. "It seemed to come out of the blue — I was incredibly shocked when I spoke with them about it."

"Che." Eddy said. "My van's more kick-ass. At least it's got a waterbed in the back." Eddy had modeled his van after the one they found in the junkyard some years back; he drove himself and Ed to school in it almost every day. "You know, for the _ladies_." He said with a smirk and wiggle of his eyebrows.

"I am going to pretend I did not hear that." Miss Makers said as she went over to the table. Almost immediately Eddward could see Eddy become a tad flustered at his comment have been heard by her. Miss Makers, doing as she had said, took a glance at the work on the table, "Now, what are your names? I'm eager to know — these projects look superb."

"Eddward."

"Ed."

"Eddy."

"Eddward, Ed and Eddy… I am going to assume that is a coincidence more or less... Are the three of you brothers, though?"

"Friends since childhood." Eddward said.

"I see, I see. That certainly _is_ interesting." She said with a laugh. "Now tell me about your projects. Eddward, you go first."

"It is a locker organizer." He said as he turned it around for her to better see. "The measurements leave about a half-inch of space on all sides in my locker. It has been measured for the top vertical compartments to hold my backpack in one, and whatever coat or jacket I may need to wear, in another. The bottom, which I am finishing up now, is a drawer for textbooks." He said as he pulled at the handle on the bottom and opened the small drawer. "It has also been measured."

"Very good. From the looks of it, you've taken meticulous care to make it as functional as possible." He smiled at her commentary. "I would say that as a future note, you should push yourself some more. This has very good smooth lines and the drawer rolls flawlessly." She stated as she pulled and pushed the drawer. "I think you can make some even more amazing things. Go big. If you're comfortable with that, that is."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"And now… Eddy, right?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Tell me about your project."

"It's a food catapult."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Hopefully not for mischief. You don't look like the type but… looks can be surprising."

The Eds held themselves back from bringing up the more mischievous side of Eddy. "Not at all. I'm gonna use it to feed myself from my bed — that way I don't have to walk to my room door when my mom brings me something." Miss Makers laughed at that.

"I see, I see. Well, it certainly looks good. Is it functional?"

"Not yet." Eddy said. "I haven't added the spring mechanism. I'm still trying to figure that out — but it does move." He showed how the "arm" of the catapult was able to move up and down like a seesaw.

"You just need the tension."

"Exactly."

"Hm… is there anything you can use for that, in here?" She placed one arm over her waist and rested the other on it, with her hand near her face and her finger tapping her cheek. She was glancing around the room as though looking for something he could use.

"Not at all. I checked." Eddy said. "But I was thinking to use some rubber bands and attach it to the top, and then have this hook thing that can somehow be removed from the back when I pull a string, and be reset, and that'll cause the catapult to launch."

"You'd need some pretty thick rubber bands and some more days of work, but… I think it can be done. Do that." She said.

Eddy nodded, and Miss Makers went to speak to Ed. In size, while she was able to look forward to make eye-contact with Eddward and a bit down to look at Eddy; for Ed, she had to raise her chin.

"Well hello there, big fella." She said.

"Hello." Ed said with his signature large smile.

"It's been a while since I've looked up at someone." She said, almost matching his smile.

"Ed's probably the tallest guy in the whole school." Eddy said. "But he's gentler than the smallest girl."

"I can see that. Your little house is spectacular down to the smallest detail. All the corners rounded — it looks like the inside has some texture to it which looks pretty necessary I'm gonna assume." She put her hand in to touch it; it wasn't rough, but grooved — sculpted, almost. "Very nice."

"It's for Chikita."

"Chikita?"

"His chicken." Eddy added.

"Ah! Okay. I see. Well from the looks of it, Chikita is going to be very happy inside here. It's all tight and sealed — very good. All that's left is color and you're already doing that. Honestly, there's not much else I can say. Good job — all three of you. Keep it up." She then gave them a thumbs-up and left the table.

Inside, the Eds felt proud.

.

.

The next period was lunch.

The table he sat at was located near the back of the cafeteria, close to the large windows that gave a good view of the school's athletics field; where some members of the various sports teams the school sponsored could be seen running and exercising and training. The patrons of the table were not only himself and his fellow "Eds", but also the Kanker sisters, and Jimmy and Sarah. Lunch was always catered by May.

"Hey guys!" She said. "I have your food." She pulled out one large plastic bag with three plastic containers inside. On top were written their individual names on tape, and she passed them out as such. Everyone else at the table had similar containers and were already munching away at May's cooking; there was variation in the meals when it came to small details and extras to the base sandwiches that May provided.

They each thanked her.

His base sandwich was healthier than Eddy and Ed's, who each had a good amount of meat and cheese stacked; his was just a simple bacon, egg and cheese with some leftover fries from Sunday (when he had gone to help the sisters with their homework) adorning them. The fries were dressed in cheddar cheese and bacon bits — not the healthiest meal, but it was certainly better tasting than the food the cafeteria regularly served. He could always burn off the calories, later.

"Ah, Edd!" May said over her salad. "I wanted to ask you if you could help me study in the library this afternoon. I have a big test tomorrow and I'm not… feeling too confident about it." She said with a blush. May was very conscious of how people viewed her intelligence; the blonde hair and buck-teeth (which she had grown into more since her childhood, but still tended to stand out when she smiled) did not help her in this field.

"Oh, oh! Me too!" Marie said. "I have the same test. Math II, right?"

May nodded.

"It would be my pleasure to help you both." He said smiling at them.

"Hey! Jimmy and I need help too!" Sarah piped in. The second redhead at the table had the same shrewd voice as her elder version, but sported a much different look with her straight hair pulled back by a headband and currently wearing her soccer uniform — her best friend wearing the school's male version for the cheerleading uniform. "N-not for Math II, but Trigonometry."

"Although that would have to come after our practices today." Jimmy said in his rather squeaky voice. "There's a game coming up and both practices end at 5 — are you still gonna be here, Edd?"

"The library runs independently from school hours, so it closes at around 9 — I can stay here until then if you want me to. I normally do."

"You can't!" Said Marie. "Edd, you promised me to come attend my roller derby competition tonight! It _starts_ at 5."

"Oh. That is correct — I do remember now. Forgive me, Marie." He said to her, before turning his head to both Sarah and Jimmy. "Unfortunately, I will not be able to help the two of you study. You do have my best wishes at your exams tomorrow, however."

Sarah began to pout. Her eyes landed on Marie, who was happily munching away at a cookie that she stole from Lee's lunch. Lee had threatened to stab her with the fork if she dared touch the cookie, but Marie was quick to get the cookie and give her sister a kiss on the cheek to pacify her; Lee had been of course flustered and sputtered quite a few curses, but May calmed her down like she always did, and the sisters had been chatting by themselves until May had brought up the request to help her study.

Jimmy noticed Sarah's stare and put a hand on her shoulder. He smiled at her, perfectly showing off his white, retainer-less teeth as he did this. Eddward caught this as he bit into his sandwich.

He would not lie: a part of him was aware of Sarah's persistent crush on him. He had even tried to mediate it when he started to date Marie, to ensure that Sarah felt no hard feelings at the development. He did these things as her friend, not wanting her to know that his frequent study of others and their body language had led to his conclusion of her — when she wanted to tell him, she would tell him, and he would speak with her candidly, then.

Until that moment, he would do as much as he could to accommodate Sarah and her feelings into his life, such as, "If you are keen on still studying, Sarah, I can gladly offer my humble abode as a meeting place. Or would you prefer me to visit your home instead? I am certain your parents would be more comfortable with that."

"You would do that Double-D?" Sarah asked, surprised.

"Of course. I am capable of staying into the later hours of the night. Although, out of properness, I will leave at 10 — I can be there by 7. Do three hours seem of use to you?"

On her face, Sarah's lips pulled back into a grin. A Cheshire grin. She looked at Eddward with eyes sparkly and said, "Of course, Double-D," in a sweet, almost gloating voice. Eddward nodded at her answer, and turned back to his sandwich — he missed the grin exuding a sense of pride and accomplishment as Sarah's eyes landed on Marie.

.

.

When school was finally over, he made his way to May's locker. The young blonde came fresh from home-economics and was juggling a plate of cookies along with her books as she tried to get everything into her locker.

"Allow me to be of service to you, May." He said as he went and grabbed the books with a plate of cookies piled on top, from her hands.

"Oh thank you, Edd." May said when she was relieved of the load. "I was scared they were about to fall — I baked those for us to study to." She said with a smile.

"Unfortunately the library does not allow the usage of food or drink." He told her. "However, I am certain we can feast on them in secret, somehow." She grinned up at him and put the two unnecessary textbooks into her locker before going to reach for the remaining book and cookies from Eddward. Eddward used his height advantage over her to lift the items above his head, where May could not reach.

"Oh no, no. I would not be a proper gentleman if I allowed a princess to carry such a cumbersome load." He said, earning another one of her infamous giggles.

"Hey lovebirds, how's it going?" Marie said as she skated over to the couple. She had not taken the rollerblades off of her feet for the full day — a ritual of hers on the day leading up to a big roller derby game. "You guys ready for our threesome? Studying, that is."

Both Eddward and May blushed at Marie's comments, but nodded their heads. The trio then made their way over to the library, with a healthy dose of conversation floating between them. It was not long before they were out of the school and across the land it was on, at the school's library that functioned, too, as the town's public library. Going in, the receptionists took notice of Marie being on skates and seemed ready to confront her on it.

"I will ensure that she not scuff the floors." Eddward told them; and they seemed to take his word because it was him.

When they found a table, close to both the windows and the books, they settled, and a more serious air seemed to form around them.

"I can only be here for about an hour — Lee's driving me to my match, then." Marie said.

"Then we will cover the topics you are having trouble with, first, Marie. Is that alright with you, May?"

May consented, and that was what the group did.

When it came time for Marie to leave, she gave kisses to both her sister and her ex-boyfriend, and then skated away with three of the ten cookies May had made. Alone, the two studied with one another until a half-hour before Marie's match.

"We should get going." Eddward said as he looked at his watch. "That is, if you feel comfortable with what we have covered so far." He was eager to get to Marie's match, but at the same time, did not want to cut into his promise with May.

"I'm fine with it Edd." May said happily. "You've helped me out a lot — and a lot of the stuff Marie was having trouble with, I did, too. I'm sure to do well tomorrow."

"I am glad you feel that way."

They packed up their items and headed to their separate lockers, together, to put away their unnecessary items, and then to his car; with Lee having driven Marie, May was left without a ride to the match, but Eddward was more than happy to oblige. She sat beside him in the passenger's seat, and he drove them to the venue.

.

.

The roller derby match had been quite the spectacle. Between the two Kanker sisters who were loud and proud as they cheered on their final member, and watching Marie's aggressiveness as she skated with her teammates, the match — the night — was more than eventful. He was certain he would have some trouble hearing later on, though.

In the end, Marie's team had tied with the other — a date for a tie-breaker was set for that Saturday, and Marie approached them fuming and complaining about a black-haired girl who had kneed her from behind and caused her to hit her chin on the floor. She was almost pulling out the dyed blue hair of her fauxhawk. She made several death threats against the girl, and was only calmed down when May shoved one of the remaining cookies that she had, into her sister's mouth; with the promise of a special almost-victory cupcake when they got home — and a full cake if they overcome the tie on Saturday.

He parted with the sisters, then, giving Marie their hello-goodbye kiss, and then driving over to his house to park his car before heading to Sarah's house for their study session. It was 7pm when he got there — right on time.

Jimmy was the one to greet him at the door. He was told that they had already set up snacks and such in the living room for them to study; Sarah was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, with her red hair loose, when he entered, and got up to greet him and then take a seat beside him on the coffee table in the room. They were shoulder-to-shoulder nearly the whole time.

When he left the house at 10pm, Sarah gave him a tight "thank you" hug and Jimmy did the same, albeit softer. He left the duo around the time Sarah's mom came home, and greeted the elder woman on the way out. He had not seen Ed at the house during his visit.

Outside, it was incredibly dark and the only thing lighting his way were the streetlights. Yet he felt comfortable in the darkness, and a part of him wished that his solitary time in the dark would not come to an end — the silence, the stars, everything, _everything_ , put him at ease as he was finally able to breathe for the first time that entire day.

The moment only came to an end at the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the cul-de-sac. He recognized it immediately and could not help but watch as it pulled into the driveway of one of the houses, and the owner hopped off. When he killed the engine and hopped off his bike, Kevin and he locked eyes.

Eddward raised a hand in acknowledgment of him, and Kevin gave a nod before heading into his house.

Eddward then headed into his own.

* * *

I know this chapter was an exposition on my Eddward and his life. Trust me, I know. I _also_ know that while I wanted a 5k word limit for each chapter for this story, that this baby was only 500 or so words from 10k (minus the before-and-after author's notes). I heavily apologize for that. I will try to keep the word count down in future chapters.

As a side note: This entire fanfiction has been planned out from chapter-to-chapter. It will have _46 total chapters_ , and be updated **_Mondays and Fridays_** — a chapter each day. Also, currently _15 chapters_ of this are already fully written. (Yeah. Not kidding. I have really bad fanfiction habits from the past, and truly want to finish this one after updating on a consistent basis and then finish up all my unfinished works.) So... have no fear on updates and _look forward to Friday for the second chapter!_

Next Chapter: Kevin had a really small part in this chapter, don't you think?

~ Inkle


	2. 2 out of 46

It's technically Friday already, so...

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of the plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Enjoy**_ _ **!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

2/46

* * *

His mornings were really quite simple.

He woke-up to the combined nuisances of his favorite song in use as the alarm ringtone for his cellphone, and the nudging and licking and barking that came from his two Pit Bulls.

"Alright, alright — _I get it_!" He shouted, although not necessarily in an angry tone. While he had a 20-lb Pit Bull on his abdomen licking his face and a 30-lb-er at his side nudging at his arm, he could not be angry; part of the reason why he loved his dogs and felt better in the mornings was because of their excitement at his awakening.

Sitting up on his bed, the 20-lb tan-colored Pit Bull, named Lacey, moved aside to let him get up without any sort of hindrance. He immediately went to wipe at the saliva that was left on his cheek from her morning kisses. The 30-lb Pit Bull, Trix, was sitting at the side of the bed and watching him — waiting for him in anticipation, really. When he had the saliva cleaned off as best as he could, he stood and briefly stretched his arms above his head.

Lacey was now next to Trix, and the two just watched him.

When he put his arms down, he took a moment and registered that his alarm was still ringing. When he dismissed that, he yawned. He stood perfectly still for about a minute, just looking at his two dogs.

Then he chuckled. "Alright, let's get this day started."

The two female Pit Bulls began to bark happily, and followed him on his way out of his room and into the bathroom. As the girls had a habit of following him into the shower, he entered and closed the door some; leaving just a small gap so they could see his face and hand.

"Stay…" He said. If he had to dry both Pit Bulls before taking them on their morning walks, there was no way he would get to school on time. He already had a deal with his dad going in regards to his attendance — he could not mess it up now that he was three weeks into school without any lateness or absences. The two girls listened to him, and he fully went into the bathroom, and closed the door wholly.

Standing in front of his bathroom mirror, he looked at himself. His red hair was disheveled; there were a couple of eye-boogers just waiting to be picked; and his muscles could not help but feel sore from all the work he did yesterday. As he only ever slept in his boxers, the red mark on his shoulder from when he had been hit by one of his co-workers accidentally yesterday, was very visible; even though he had put on an ice-pack for a few hours last night before he fell asleep, he still felt the soreness and could not help but not look forward to today. He hoped his shoulder would not act out on him.

 _Ah, fuck it_ , he thought. It was not the first time he had to go through a full day semi-injured. He had been through worse; a little shoulder pain was nothing.

Before he bathed, he washed his hands and face. He always brushed his teeth first before entering the shower, and there was no way he was going to grab onto his toothbrush and brush his teeth with Lacey's saliva still on his hands and face. After he was done, he grabbed his toothbrush and made quick work of his dental hygiene. He smiled into the mirror after he brushed, checking his teeth.

 _Sexy_ , he thought; never one to shy away from a healthy dose of narcissism.

With that done, he took off his boxers and left them on the floor, and headed into the shower. He washed with warm water, letting some water hit his red shoulder for a few seconds, in hopes that that it will help it some. He bathed with soap and a bath-sponge that he had gotten a while back, and used that same soap to wash his hair — he had run out of shampoo the other day and had meant to get it yesterday, but got distracted by the sudden injury.

Whatever. He would try to get it today before he headed to work.

Finished, he stepped out of the shower — it was then that he realized that he had left his towel in his bedroom. He heaved a deep sigh. Heading towards the door, wet and leaving soppy footprints on the tile, he gave a peek. He flinched when he saw Lacey and Trix sitting right in front of the door, loyally.

"Jesus shit—!" He said when he noticed the two dogs. He quickly calmed himself, however. As he was not about to walk naked in front of his dogs, he told them "Go get the leashes, go, go!" so they would head down the stairs in a rush at the sound of the familiar words. When they did just that, he rushed into his bedroom and closed and locked the doors.

He breathed.

"I gotta remember to take my towel with me…" He mumbled as he fished it from a pile of clothes that were on his bed and he was meaning to get to. Besides the clothing pile, his room was rather neat and tidy with everything in its place and more-than-easy to find. He had not been much of a slob during his childhood, and even now, the only reason those clothes were not in his closet was because he had run out of hangers — yet another thing he meant to buy.

He dried himself and changed into his choice outfit for the day; deciding on something simple, as he was not in the mood for anything too extravagant or time-consuming. He put on a fresh pair of underwear, and a white beater, on top of which he put on some blue jeans that were not too loose nor too tight, and his work shirt. His work shirt was a standard, old-school mechanic's shirt; it was light blue in color, long-sleeved, and had "Kev" stitched onto the area that fell over his left breast. He rolled up the sleeves of the shirt just before putting on some socks and tying a pair of boots over them.

He then went to the dresser with the mirror on top in his bedroom, and grabbed his brush as he fixed his hair. It was still slightly wet, but he did not mind it too much. He brushed it out and then slapped his hat on backwards before maneuvering his bangs through the front gap. His signature style, which did more than enough to secure his hat on his head for the day.

He finished everything off with some lotion and cologne.

 _Nice, nice_ , he thought. He was ready for the day, and it was only 7 o'clock. That gave him enough time to walk both Lacey and Trix, and drive by McDonald's to get himself some breakfast on the way to school. He got excited about that.

Stepping out of the room, he was none-too-surprised seeing the two female dogs with their separate leashes in their mouths. He smiled and bent down to grab the leashes and attach them to the dogs' collars; he rubbed their heads saying "good girl, good girl," when he did this.

"Alright, let's go." With the two dogs secured, he made his way down the stairs and exited his house.

Walking Lacey and Trix was always quite the adventure. The two dogs were energetic in the mornings and strong in their own rights, and more than once, he found himself stretched out as he tried to control them both. However, for the most part, they were obedient and stayed moving forward — and fast, allowing him to also get a morning jog in.

They went around the circumference of the park near his house, and stopped at the water fountains there for the two girls to get a drink. Even though he could last until he got home, there was no guarantee that they could. He was just glad there were not any people around the park to scrutinize them; dogs drinking directly from the fountains were not allowed, and he had already gotten many looks from previous park patrons and a warning from a cop that just happened to be around when he did that, some time ago.

With the girls rehydrated, then, they resumed the walk and continued their run-over of the park. As they were on the last leg of their morning walks, they picked-up speed — wanting to finish their pseudo walks strong.

Under his skin, his muscles pleasantly — painfully — worked themselves to keep up with the animals' speeds. He had to stretch his legs more and take strides that were significantly longer than what he was accustomed to; he had to bring his knees up higher and more quickly; he had to bring his feet down harsher, yet be fast and light enough to position his body for the next set of steps. Truly, walking his dogs in the morning was the best workout he could get — he had often considered bringing them to his practices with him. (If only the school did not have a "No Pets" rule.)

When the three of them reached their home, he was quick to remove their leashes and set them loose. The two dogs ran into the kitchen, where food and water were already waiting for them, courtesy of his father.

"You're running water like a leaky faucet." His dad said. The man was eating his breakfast on the kitchen island; briefly he stopped to tear a perforated sheet from the paper towels on the table, and handed it to his son.

"Thanks, pops." Kevin said as he kindly accepted it and began to wipe the sweat off of his face.

"Staying for breakfast?" His father asked as he gestured towards the fridge. "I think that some waffles are still left in the freezer."

"Nah, I gotta go." Kevin said as he glanced at the clock; it was almost 7:45am, and he had to be school by 8:00am if he wanted to keep the bet with his dad going. "But I'll try and stop by McDonald's and get something to eat."

"Need money?"

"Nah. I still have some leftover from my paycheck. It'll hold until Friday."

"Tell me if you do. You have a job, yes, but it's only $6 an hour. That's not a lot given how independent you wanna be." His father said to him. He, Kevin, gave a laugh as he tossed out the now-damp paper towel.

"Calm down, old man. It's enough. I promise."

"Hey, watch it." His dad said as he rose from the island and went to put his dish and cup in the sink. "I'm only in my late 40s — got tons of years ahead of me ya hooligan."

" _Hooligan_? Are you gonna smack me with your cane now?" He teased.

His dad looked at him in mock-irritation before his face melted in a smile. The two men gave a laugh before Kevin went over to his father and, like he did every morning, gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't work yourself too hard, Kevin." His dad said. "And watch that shoulder."

"I will, I will. Thanks. Bye." He said to his dad; and because the two girls seemed to recognize his words and were now barking at him — saying goodbye, really — he rubbed their heads at the same time saying, "Bye Lacey. Bye Trix. You girls be good."

"Don't forget your backpack!" His dad called out.

He snapped his fingers. "Right." He rushed up the stairs and quickly headed into his room, where the red backpack sat on the floor next to his studying desk. As he headed back down, he said, "Thanks, pops!" He always seemed to forget to take his backpack with him; it was such a miniscule detail compared to almost everything else that was on his mind.

He then left his house and locked the door behind him, and headed to his motorcycle — his pride and joy. When he had first gotten a job back at age 14, the minimum age to get a working permit, he saved up all of his money for three-and-a-half years with the hope of upgrading from his bicycle, to a motorcycle in the coming years. He remembered the day he first saw the beat-up Harley; he had been pining for that very model but everything new was way out of his price-range; but he had faith in his refurbishing skills as a mechanic, and was excited to see that the motorcycle that his father had dug up for him through his network, needed minimal repairs.

He sat down on the Harley and, as it had only been a few weeks since he was finally able to ride it on the streets, reveled yet again in the fact that it was _his_.

 _Hell yeah_ , he thought.

"Hey Kevin!"

From across the street, he could spot his friends Nazz and Johnny. Nazz was waving at him while the pair was walking to her a car; a convertible that she received as a birthday present two years ago on her sixteenth.

"Headed to school?!" She called out.

"Yeah!" He called back.

"Cool! We'll go together!" She and Johnny then entered the car and started to pull away from the driveway.

He did the same on his motorcycle and turned it on before moving out of his driveway. Leaving the cul-de-sac, he was at the front with Nazz and Johnny following behind him; Nazz had her favorite radio station on and bopped her head to the beats of the songs that played, while Johnny's attention was focused on his cellphone with the custom, "Plank" phone case. They came side-by-side when they streets were no longer narrow. At a red-light, though, he saw the McDonald's and remembered his promise to get himself some breakfast.

"You guys go ahead." He told them. "I gotta get me something to eat."

"We'll see you at school, then." Nazz said.

"Yeah — later, Kevin." Johnny said.

"Later."

The light turned green and as Nazz and Johnny continued on their way to school, he pulled into the McDonald's drive-thru. He briefly glanced at the time on the receiver; it was ten minutes until 8:00 — he still had plenty of time.

.

.

At school, Kevin had his red bag slung over his shoulder and was munching on hash-browns when he walked into his first period class. He got to the Math II class three minutes before the bell, and sat at his assigned table — with the only other person who sat at the table being May Kanker. The blonde girl was known in the class for getting more questions wrong than right, but Kevin knew that she probably worked harder than anyone else to get those few questions right.

She nodded up at him in greeting; focused more on the notes in front of her as she began to copy down the objective and warm-up lesson that were present on the board. He nodded back before taking his seat next to her; every morning she always smelled like food, and today he could smell syrup and bacon on her. He gave a pleasant hum — what he would not give for some _pink candy_.

The teacher, Mr. Ahn, was already in the classroom and took quick notice of the fact that he was eating in class, when he turned around after writing the homework on the right side of the board — it was to study for the unit test tomorrow. "Kevin, food away." He said.

"Right, right." He replied back. "Just let me finish." He scarfed the rest of the hash-browns down and then got up from his seat to throw away the paper bag and wrappers it came in. When he sat back down, he was quick to get his materials out.

"Before class starts, is there anyone that needs a graphing calculator?" Mr. Ahn asked. Five students raised their hands, and he went to his desk where old versions of the _Texas Instruments_ graphing calculators rested. He passed them out to the unprepared students — one of which being Kevin, who discovered to have left his (a TI-89), on his studying desk in his bedroom. He had been in such a rush to sleep last night once it passed 12, that he had not been paying much attention as he put away his materials and just shoved all the papers he could find, in, and whatever was caught between them. Apparently his calculator was not one of those things.

"Be prepared next time, Mr. Barr." Mr. Ahn said; as he had done to all the other students whom he had given those calculators to.

"Right. I know. Sorry." Kevin said.

With the materials situation settled, Mr. Ahn officially started the class and gave them five minutes to solve the warm-up problem on the board; a stopwatch magnetically clasped onto the whiteboard timing them. The students who were there early-enough had either already finished solving the problem or were well on their way to it; May was one of these students, and Kevin watched as she checked to see if her final answer was correct — it was not.

Her face contorted into a confused expression as she began to go over the problem again to see what was missing. As Kevin had been writing that very problem, he was able to see immediately where it was that she had gone wrong.

The three on the board had been morphed into an eight.

"This isn't a three," he said as he pointed to that exact spot in the problem. "It's an eight — and this is a seven, not a one." He told her as he spotted another issue.

"Ah! Thank you, Kevin!" She exclaimed as high as she possibly could in the hushed-tones of the room. "I really appreciate that." She gave him the giggle that she had also become well known for.

"You're welcome."

When the five minutes were up, Mr. Ahn went to his teacher's desk and grabbed a cup full of popsicle sticks with Kevin's grade and class period marked on the side of a Styrofoam cup using black Sharpie. There was a noticeable sense of anxiousness as Mr. Ahn moved the popsicle sticks around to shuffle them; they always hated when he cold-called in the mornings using those sticks. Finally, the shaking came to a stop, and he lifted one popsicle stick; the student's name was facing him, and written on it in Sharpie as well.

"May Kanker." He said as he put the stick back. "Go up and solve the warm-up on the board."

"O-okay." May said nervously. She had finished re-writing and solving the problem on the notebook after receiving Kevin's suggestions, and grabbed it as she headed up to the board.

Kevin knew May always got nervous when she was called up. The eyes were always on her from a combination of people wanting to see whether she would get this question correct or incorrect (betting, most likely, that she would fail in answering correctly), and from them staring at her body. It was commonly said that the reason why May Kanker had trouble using her brain was because the nutrients that were meant for it were soaked up in her hips and thighs, making her very bottom-heavy and eye-candy for when her back was to people.

He caught himself slipping the few times his eyes lowered to land on the shape of her butt in the jeans she wore that day, but otherwise, he focused entirely on her writing as she solved the problem. In the middle of this, he noticed that she had again confused the three and eight, and seven and one. He wished he could point it out to her, but was happy he did not have to when she reread her work and matched it to her notebook, and noticed the mistakes, herself.

"Is that your final answer?" Mr. Ahn asked when May turned around with her back to the board.

"Um…. Y-yeah." She said, none-too-confident. She had caught the mistake on the board, but there was still the chance that she had gotten the calculations wrong in her notebook to begin with. Kevin knew this, and noticed the grip on her notebook had tightened.

"You are correct. Good work."

She beamed, giggling; not her infamous giggle, but a more toned-down version of it that was just enough to express her happiness and release her nerves.

"Thanks."

"Sit down, now. Or would you care to explain your work?"

"I'll just sit down." She did not want to push her luck.

When she sat back down at the table, May turned to look at him and said, "Thank you so much for earlier. You saved me."

Kevin grinned. "It was nothing. You're welcome."

.

.

During second and third period, he found himself wearing his gym uniform and running laps on the school's athletics field. He had run into his football coach on his way to second period, who told him that there would be an impromptu training session as punishment for misconduct.

He had originally thought, _Misconduct for what_? when he heard this. He did not remember any of him or his teammates doing anything noticeably bad in the past couple of days— but his confusion was quickly resolved after he had gotten changed and was on the field among the rest of the team members. Turns out, last night, a number of them — identified through the team jackets that they had been wearing — had vandalized the local candy shop for reasons unknown. As the coach did not know who personally did it, and did not have the patience to play Sherlock, he decided to punish them as a group in the hopes the wrongdoers would get the message — vandalizing the candy shop had not only been morally wrong, but looked bad on the team.

Thus they were forced to complete 10-laps and 100-pushups. One water break.

The laps were easy for him. He was able to complete them well near the record time, and was one of the first to move onto the pushups — which he dreaded. His shoulder still was not at its best from yesterday, and he had been happy at the fact that there was no football practice on Monday, because that meant there would not be any extra physical strain on his arm besides what he would have to do for work that afternoon. Now this discipline session had ruined that as, by the 70th pushup, he found himself under uncomfortable strain on his shoulder.

 _Crap_ , he thought. He took a moment to breathe and sat on his knees as he lifted up his shirt at the base of his neck, and saw the red spot burning brighter. He groaned.

" _Barr_! _This ain't the time to be slacking on your teammates_! _Or do you wanna give them_ _ **more**_ _punishment_?!"

"No, sir!" He screamed back.

For now, he had to bite down on his lip and suck up the pain; despite him feeling the grind of his muscles as he got to the 80th pushup; despite the spot getting redder and redder by the 90th pushup; and despite the extreme ache he was now feeling by the 100th pushup.

He groaned when he completed the last pushup. His shoulder felt absolutely morbid.

"Finished, Barr?" The coach asked him as he came up to him.

"Yes, coach." He responded; trying to not let the excruciating pain he felt from his shoulder, show through. So far, he had a good reputation with the coach, and he was not ready to ruin that just because of some little injury.

"Shower up, then and get back to class — fourth period should be starting soon."

"Right."

He got up from the ground, his legs aching, yet not as much as his shoulder was. He hurried himself off to the locker room inside the school, and cringed when he lifted his shirt above his head and his shoulder decided to act up.

" _Fuck_!" He screamed when the pain came near-close to unbearable.

"What the hell, Kevin?" A teammate asked. He had finished a few minutes before Kevin and was putting on his clothes after showering. "Something the matter?" When his teammate looked over at where he stood near his open locker, his eyes spotted the angry red mark. "Shit. Your shoulder's fucked up."

"No shit, Sherlock." Kevin responded.

"Go to the nurse, man. It'd suck not being able to play during Homecoming in a few weeks."

"I know. I'm gonna — just gotta shower first."

"Want me to help?"

Kevin looked at the blond male; he had a harlequin-like grin on him that Kevin snorted at. He knew the male was not serious and just wanted to get a rise out of him; this was confirmed when he let out a laugh at Kevin's reaction.

"Beat it." Kevin said.

"Alright already, damn." He closed his locker door and slung his backpack on his shoulder. "Just don't fuck it up more than it already is." On his way out, he slapped Kevin directly on his injured shoulder; he hissed.

" _Asshole_!"

"Thank you, man. Thank you."

When the nuisance had left the locker room, Kevin pushed through and straightened himself up, and continued putting his clothes away in his locker; he threw in his gym shirt and got out his towel and regular clothes; he closed the door and locked it once again. He then headed to one of the three private stalls in the locker room and made sure that the door was secure, before setting up all his clothing items on the inside and finishing undressing.

It was not that he was self-conscious about his body; he could hold himself against the best of them in terms of muscle and shape and confidence, but he would not allow anyone else to see him struggling with his shoulder. The extra element of eyes on him and whatever commentary that may arise from that, was not necessary.

In the closed shower stall he removed the rest of his clothing and underwear and hung it with the rest on two hooks, and then turned on the water. He did all of these things with his one good arm and hand; he was keen on not moving the other as much as he possibly could, in the hopes that that would help it recover without the need for extensive medical attention.

He showered, having some difficulty without the use of his other arm. Drying was easier, but at one point it had felt as though he would slip, and he was forced to reach out with his injured arm and hold onto the shower handle. He regretted it almost immediately; he would much rather have preferred the fall on his opposite arm.

 _Dumbass_ , he thought, berating himself.

With his injury feeling worse and worse, he tried to put on his clothing on as fast as possible — this meant cutting corners, such as ignoring his wet hair and body entirely and just focusing on getting clothed. His socks got wet when he put them on and stood in them while putting on his boots one at a time. He was certain his white beater was inside out, and he skipped out entirely on putting his work shirt on over because that would require messing with his injured arm more than he would have liked to. When he was decent, however, he collected the rest of his things and exited the stall.

The locker room was now filled with more members of the team; those capable of completing the disciplinary workout at an average time rate, flocked in one after another. He went immediately to his locker and put his towel away, and quickly dabbed on some deodorant before closing the door and slinging his backpack on his one good shoulder, and heading out.

.

.

"Um, hey, can I get some help here?" He asked, walking into the nurse's office.

The nurse, a woman by the name of Florence — Flo, for short — who seemed rather young for her age and yet held wisdom far beyond her years (or at least, constantly showed herself as having such), turned around to look at him after putting a thermometer in the mouth of another student. "Hold that for a few seconds under your tongue," she told the young child, who looked worse-for-wear than he currently did.

"How can I help you?" She asked him. Before he could answer, however, she scrunched up her face as she tried to piece together the information in front of her, and said, "Kevin Barr, right? Twelfth grade. Football team."

"Right." He responded.

"Your hair's wet and— shit." She said, her eyes landing on his red shoulder. "Ah. Sorry. I was told not to curse around students, but… gosh darn it. Your shoulder looks awful. Come, have a seat here." She gestured to the empty bed next to the sick-looking student. Briefly she turned her attention to them as she took out the thermometer and checked their temperature — 102.8 degrees Fahrenheit. A definitive sign of a fever. "Lay down Rosanne. I'm gonna have to call your parents and have them pick you up. Give me a second, Kevin. Let me take care of her first."

The girl next to him, Rosanne, looked a bit mortified that her parents were being called home. He could hear her mumbling something under her breath; about a big test she had to take next period, and how she had just come in here for some medication to get her through it — but now she was going to have to go home, and obviously could not take the exam anymore. She was frustrated.

He could hear nurse Flo talking to the girl's parents and seeing if they could pick her up. It looked as though they simply were not capable of fitting time into doing that, as she came back into the area where the two of them sat and said, "Looks like you're just gonna have to stay here for the rest of the day."

"P-please, is there… is there any way I can go take my exam and then… come back?" The young girl looked at nurse Flo with eyes drowning in disparity. She was chewing on her bottom lips, her fingers clenched and body tensed as though to brace herself for battle — or disappointment.

Nurse Flo looked at the girl; her lips wiggling a bit as she seemed to physically chew over what the girl was asking of her.

"How important is this exam that it's worth risking your health and that of your classmates?" She asked. The young girl looked at her with wide eyes framed by her messy brown bangs. She seemed to understand that no test was worth the risk of health— especially not those of her classmates and teachers. She frowned and bowed her head in shame, and nurse Flo sighed. "Relax. Sit back. I'll give you some Tylenol and you try to get some sleep between now and the time school ends — and write down your name and your class and teacher for that test of yours. I'll talk to them about a make-up."

The girl nodded and while Flo went to get a bottle of Tylenol and a small plastic measuring cup for her to drink from, she, the girl, Rosanne, got out a pen and paper and with a shaking hand and some visible difficulty (she must have been incredibly sick — too sick, even, to take the test at all if she could barely hold a pencil), she wrote down the information nurse Flo requested from her. She handed said slip of paper to her when she came to give her the Tylenol, and then settled back on the bed. Nurse Flo made sure to fully pull the covers that helped to separate the bedding sections, to give the girl maximum privacy.

"Now," she said as she went to stand in front of him; her eyes immediately fixated on the burning red spot that had become of his shoulder. "Tell me how this happened."

"I had work yesterday at the garage place downtown, and I was inspecting the engine of this _really nice_ car—" (Flo rolled her eyes at his emphasis on the quality of the car) "—when my co-worker accidentally removed the hood pole that held it up, and it slammed down on my shoulder. It was sore but fine, until it got aggravated with an… impromptu football drill a few minutes ago — 100-pushups. I was dying by the 50th."

"I see." She said. "Would you mind if I touched it some?"

He shook his head, and nurse Flo put her hands on his shoulder. Her hands were cold, and she gently moved her thumbs along the redness. He flinched when she kneaded a particularly bad area.

"Sorry," she said, taking her hands off of him. "Good news is that it doesn't look like a fracture of any sort — which I doubted in the first place, but it never hurts to check. But there's definitely some unnecessary grinding going on. To stop that, you need a sling — but first, some ice."

"I can't get a sling." He said when she went over to a wall of one long counter with cupboards both above and below it; the cupboards above had glass windows that let her see the medications and other items that were inside. There was a sink in the counter as well, nice and deep. She had gone to that very area to grab the Tylenol and small cup for the now-sleeping girl, and now sought after a compressed ice-pack in a small refrigerated section of the cupboards below the counter.

"Why?" She asked as she found the ice-pack and went to place it on his shoulder. He hissed a bit when the cold pack came against his shoulder, but a few seconds later, he rejoiced in it being there. He had desperately needed that.

"I just came for some meds. I have too many other things to do today and I can't have a sling holding me back."

"Well it's either a sling or amputation. Your choice."

He looked up at her with mild shock. "Are… are you serious?"

"Of course not." She responded, removing her hand from the ice-pack. He immediately replaced it with his good hand, and added more pressure onto the blaring red spot. "I told you there aren't any fractures, didn't I? However, that doesn't mean that you can just choose to _not_ get a sling. You need one regardless. I think there are some left here— hold on."

"I said I can't get one." He said again. "I have work almost all this week. And the days where I don't have it, I have football practice. And I _have_ to practice — Homecoming isn't that far away and we can't mess up. _I_ can't mess up. The team would chew me out for it."

Nurse Flo snorted quite audibly. For a moment he contemplated her age and wondered if she was really as young or old as she looked. She seemed to switch between mid-20s and mid-30s at his separate glances of her; and when she had been very close earlier, she looked more into her 40s, almost, from the crow's feet prominently decorating her eyes. Yet there was no denying her youthful demeanor; from her black, red-tipped hair to her large square "hipster" glasses and converse sneakers.

"Don't be an idiot, boy," she said, suddenly displaying signs of her being much older than he felt she was. "If you do _anything_ with your shoulder like that, it'll likely be the last time your shoulder will ever work like it originally did. You're looking at future ligament troubles and mobility issues if you keep this up."

"I know, but—"

"No buts. You're getting a sling." She went to the wall of cupboards once again and found what she had been looking for. She grabbed hold of a blue sling that looked like it would fit perfectly on him, and then went over to him stating, "Lower the ice-pack and your shirt strap. I gotta apply some medication cream first to help with the swelling."

Kevin did as such. He no longer felt as though he could argue against her. He let her apply the medication and then put his arm up in the sling. Once it was secure, he felt bitterness inside of him. This was surely going to set him back for the rest of the day — nay, the entire week.

"There. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" She said as she finished cleaning up and went to wash her hands of the cream she had applied on his shoulder. "Just keep it in there for… I'm gonna say, up to two weeks from now. It could get better before then. But make sure to come see me when you feel like you should remove it — the school only has so many slings. As for care, well, simply, take it off when you're bathing and sleeping. Otherwise, it is on at _all times_. Understood?"

He nodded.

"Good. Now get out of here." She said with a grin.

He nodded and wordlessly hopped off of the bed and slung his backpack on his good shoulder, and exited the room. His arm was secured pretty tightly in the sling, and he could already feel some relief from it being inside of there — _but_ , he could not go around wearing this all day. At home, maybe, but only after he had done everything he needed to do — at the end of his days. Not at school, though, and certainly not at work.

On his way to class, he detoured into the closest boys' bathroom and, when inside, wasted no time in taking his arm out of the sling, in front of the mirror. When the sling was off of his body, he shoved it into his backpack. He put on his work shirt slowly, then, and tried to make himself look as normal as possible.

He told himself that because she had applied some creams, he would still get the same effects on his shoulder as if his arm was in the sling (he knew he was likely lying to himself, but hoped desperately that this was the case in the end). He would wear it at home after he did all of his chores, after all. He would even wear it to bed if that helped offset the time he spent not wearing it during his working days. He will wear it at all other times of the day, he promised, just not when he had to be around others who could be perturbed by his condition.

He noticed, then, when he was finishing fixing himself up, that his signature red snapback had been left in the locker room. He had been in such a rush to get out of there, after all, that the small detail had slipped past his eyes.

He went back to get it; being very careful about his sling-less arm.

.

.

After school came to an end, he hopped onto his motorcycle and headed to downtown Peach Creek to _Mo and Tasha's Garage_. It was the only auto-body repair shop in all of Peach Creek, and also where his father had brought him to see his Harley back when it was not his and beat-up.

The owner, Mo, was an old friend of his dad's and a greasy mechanic constantly in a red jumpsuit with oil on him like lotion. He had dark brown eyes and balding red hair, and was quite the absent-minded character; but an overall nice guy who had found the Harley and sold it to him cheap, and then constantly checked up on him to see its progress. When he saw his skill in mechanical repair, he offered him a job as a crew member — starting off small with minor repairs like flat tires and some work on bicycles — and he immediately took it.

It was then that he was introduced to Mo's wife, Tasha; a short Asian woman whose hair seemed to be dyed blacker than black by the oil, as she always said that it was naturally a visibly dark brown. Tasha always wore red lipstick as her staple, along with a green jumpsuit matching her husband's in style, and her hair constantly pulled up into a messy bun through the use of pencils or pens. She did not have the old type of mechanic knowledge that Mo did, but she was key on everything new and modern and used that to her advantage to help with the new "breed" of car that constantly came in. Tasha had seemed to make a pet project out of his Harley, though, and always gave him pointers on how to improve it, and even did some hands-on work. She had a motorcycle herself.

He would not lie. It was from the stuff he learned working at Mo's that he was even able to repair his Harley to its current exemplary state; and for that, he was extremely grateful and did not want to disappoint.

When he rolled into the employee parking lot, he was greeted by Tasha, who was pulling up herself, in Mo's red pickup truck with what looked to be spare parts for auto repairs in the back.

"Hello, Kevin." She said as she killed the engine and hopped out. "Right on time as always."

"Of course." He said to her, putting his motorcycle keys in his pocket. "I would not dream of being late — I love working here, after all."

"Well that's good to hear. Hey listen, how's that shoulder of yours? I hope that oaf didn't mess it up too bad." She said, referring to the employee who had somehow missed an entire body being hunched over and inspecting a car's engine and removed the hood holder without a thought.

"Nah, I'm fine." He said, grinning; trying his best to not let anything be a dead giveaway to his lie. "Some sleep helped me brush everything off. It doesn't hurt at all, anymore."

"That's good to hear." Tasha said. "I was so worried. Well, since you say you're fine, go in and put your backpack away then come help me out with these parts. I got a huge haul from the junkyard today, as you can see." She said smiling proudly as she tapped the top of what looked to be a bumper that rested atop a pile of other various metal car parts.

"Right. I'll be right back."

"Hop to it."

He went inside the large garage facility and quickly headed to the employee lockers. He got out his keys and pulled out the small locker key and opened the door. His locker was nearly empty except for a water bottle that he kept around for work, and some auto repair magazines that Mo had given to him a while back when he was fixing his Harley. (He had wanted Kevin to make a custom piece of the Harley, but in the end, he had decided against it; having a motorcycle was enough for him, he did not need it custom.)

He put in his backpack and then locked the door. Before exiting the area, he punched in his time card. On his way back outside, he came across Tasha who was hauling in some tire rims.

"Start with the small things first. We'll tackle the big stuff together."

He nodded.

The hauling-out process took about a good thirty minutes. It had been relatively easy work until he got to the large bumpers. There were four of them and while Tasha had told him that they would tackle them together, he went in thinking that he could handle them just fine, and immediately regretted it when one slipped and pulled his injured shoulder down with it when he tried to grasp at it.

He had never bitten onto the inside of his cheek so hard, before.

 _Fuck, fuck!_ He inwardly screamed. _That's gonna leave more than a mark. Fuck._

"Kevin, are you alright?" Tasha asked him when she came back outside. She saw the bumper on the floor and Kevin hunched over and clutching his shoulder, and her facial expression immediately took into one of curiosity and concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Kevin said. He forced himself to straighten up and bite back the exploding pain that emitted from his shoulder. He was barely a half-hour into his 6-hour shift, and could not let his messed up shoulder get the best of him so soon.

"Mmmmm…" Tasha did not look convinced, so he put on a show of fully straightening himself out and grabbing hold of the bumper. He lifted it to rest on his good shoulder.

"See? See? I'm fine, Tasha. No need to worry."

"If you say so, then. But didn't I tell you we would handle the big stuff together? Honestly…"

He chuckled. "It's fine. We'll do the next one together. Lemme just bring this one in first." He then moved to walk into the garage and headed to where he and Tasha had been stockpiling the junkyard-treasures next to Mo's office. He flinched at the movement it took to bring the bumper from atop his "good" shoulder, and down onto the ground. In the end, he was happy to have the pressure alleviated, but hesitant to go back out and help Tasha with the rest.

 _Just suck it up. It'll be over soon._

.

.

At the end of his shift, he had never felt more excited to leave and go home. Normally, he was content with his shift finishing, having felt that he pulled in a good day and earned his hours — a feeling he prided himself on. However, he had never quite been _anxious_ to leave, as he did now. He had never stared at the clock as much as he did that day; wishing that somehow time would speed up and he would blink and be in his bed and no longer putting more pressure on his more-than-jacked-up shoulder.

Driving home, he had visions of a warm bath and tension releasing from his muscles; a warm meal and cold drink; finishing his homework as quickly as possible; and finally, falling into a deep sleep on his bed.

He was eager to get home.

Pulling into his driveway, the front light of the garage that he knew his father turned on specifically for him around the time he was set to get home from work, and the faint light of the streetlamps, were his only source of illumination. Everyone was already in their houses, and the majority of them had their lights completely off.

Getting off of his motorcycle, though, he noticed that he was not the only one out on the street at this time; across from him, he could spot a person staring in his direction. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the person to be Eddward.

Eddward raised a hand in greeting; He gave a nod in Eddward's direction, back.

With that, he went into his home with his backpack still hanging on his good shoulder, and could not help the smile that came across his face as Lacey and Trix greeted him with hugs and wet doggy kisses.

* * *

So I managed to keep the word count down for this chapter (yay!) but it's still not quite 5k... mmm... I'm gonna have to figure that out. However, that is not important. What _is_ important is this:

Any products mentioned in the past, present, or future of this story that you are familiar with, are obviously not my own and only included for realism. These babies all belong to their respective trademarks.

The characters _Mo_ and _Tasha_ in name and appearance belong to the _Delicious!_ series game creators. If you haven't heard of it before, it's this amazing series of time-management games that can be found on GameHouse (gaming site, Google if you wish). Honestly, I highly recommend the series because it's one of my absolute favorites.

Next Chapter: Eddward and rain.

Updates **Mondays and Fridays**.

~ Inkle


	3. 3 out of 46

My word count is getting better. :) Anyways, this chapter is the official start of the plot. So no more long introductions — just straight (ish) Kevedd from now on. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of the plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _3/46_

* * *

When Eddward awoke the following morning, it was raining outside; a downpour; not just raining cats and dogs, but likely drowning them as well with the massive quantities of water that fell from the sky, at such a high rate, too.

While he pleasantly enjoyed the white noise that rain created when it was time for him to fall asleep, in the mornings, it greatly dampened his mood — no pun intended. This would make it incredibly difficult to make his way over to the Kanker household to taste the goodness that was May's cooking early on, and have another rush of witty banter with Marie. Then there was always Lee, and what she had to offer to the situation. It would be difficult, yes, to run while holding an umbrella above his head, but he would do it regardless for the pleasant company that came from the trio of friends.

(For a moment he mused on his present and past. He remembered back to a time when he had feared the Kanker sisters — Marie especially, who had what he determined to be an unhealthy crush on him, at the time. Now, however, he very much enjoyed the Kankers' company — and Marie was one of his most important people, whom he felt he would go to any cost to protect.

Ah, how embarrassingly fondly he looked back at all those times he ran away from her. Even back then, she had her hair dyed blue, but never let its natural black color show like she was doing now with the sides of her fauxhawk. She had come off to him as obsessive and rude, and with some mental dysfunction — but oh how wrong he had been in the judge of her character. When he finally stopped running away from her advances and made an effort to be her friend, at least, Marie Kanker turned out to be someone he was able to connect to on a spiritual level. There were so many more layers to her than he had been allowed to see — her sisters, as well, turned out to be much more mature and exciting than they let on. Candid. Hard-working. _Nice_.

He could hardly imagine what he may have deprived himself from if he had not stopped physically running from Marie when she and her sisters were chasing him and Ed and Eddy, and held out the white flag of surrender, and the hand of friendship.)

However, this plan quickly fell apart as he, looking out his bedroom window, found his vision nearly entirely blocked by the heavy rain. He would be unable to run, at all. He heaved a sigh and went to his cellphone. On days like these, he always sent a text to Marie to let her know that he would be unable to come over for breakfast that day (he would still go to pick them up for school, but not to eat). The results of which were usually the sisters breaking into his locker at school — as in, cracking the combination lock through whatever means they used that left no signs of tampering (he assumed they used the old-fashioned stethoscope trick) — and leaving his food there for him to eat during his initial free periods. It was always a nice treat, even though he was expecting it.

He had not sent the message but a minute before he got a reply back from Marie. In her usual, emoticon-hieroglyphic way, which he felt he should get a Master's Degree for being able to debunk the series of emojis, she communicated to him, **"Booooooooooo!"** Followed by, **"We gotchu."**

He laughed, almost hearing her voice and seeing her face as she sent him these things. He imagined the look of displeasure turning into a smug, pouty look as she nodded her head at her sisters, who would somehow know exactly what she meant. He held back the escalation threatening in his laughter as he spent more cognitive skills on this one thought.

With his morning situation taken care of, he put his phone aside and went to bathe. As usual, his towel and other toiletries were waiting for him in there, and he made quick work of his hygienic process. When he was finished, he wrapped his hair up and went into his bedroom, naked as usual. Inside, he dried and dressed, and then finished up setting his hair.

It was incredibly early by the time he finished — not even 8am. It was still early enough, however, to go to Marie's house and transport her and her sisters to school with him; and still manage to get them to their class on time.

At his foyer, he grabbed his plastic bubble umbrella from the umbrella rack next to the door, and his house keys; his phone already in the internal pocket of the jacket he decided to wear, as extra protection against the wind.

As he stepped out, he was hit by the full-force of the rainstorm; high velocity winds and heavy rainfall got him drenched almost instantly. He regretted not putting on rain boots as well, having felt that he could handle it with his current footwear. He was half ready to go back indoors and change, but opted against it; what good would that do, now that he was already wet? He would just be dragging the filth into the house, which was the last thing he wanted.

He decided on instead heading into his car. The short distance there was harder to traverse than normal, even with his bubble umbrella providing a clear barrier for his eyes to see through — part of the reason why he had purchased it over a regular umbrella. When he got to his car, he was more-than-happy to step in and close his bubble umbrella, before tossing it to the bottom of the back seat. He felt happier than ever, now, that he had opted to get the _Weather Tech_ floor-liners for his vehicle; the seats already had plastic protectors keeping the white, white, and the leather dry, after all, and the use of the floor-liners made cleaning his vehicle during accidental spells and rainy days, much easier.

Pulling out of his driveway, he was about to round out of the cul-de-sac when he spotted Kevin coming out of his household.

He did not have an umbrella with him and was running while holding his red backpack above his head. At the front door, Eddward could see Kevin's father calling out to him and holding out an umbrella. Kevin was on his motorcycle and braving the heavy rain as he tried to get it started.

Without thinking of it for a moment, he stopped at Kevin's house and called out, "Kevin!" The drenched male did not hear him, and he motioned towards his father. His father caught on and was able to communicate to Kevin the need to turn around. When he did, he finally said, "It is unsafe to operate a motorized cycling vehicle in these hazardous weather conditions! Please! Allow me to be of service in that respect!"

It seemed to take a moment for Kevin to register what it was that he was saying; but in the end he seemed to get it. Carpool, he wanted to carpool with him today because all Kevin had a license to drive for, was his motorcycle — with a car license being an entirely different exam and set of authoritative processes for him to register and gain — and if he had trouble walking to his car in this weather, there was no telling the difficulty Kevin would have going at 20 — maybe 30 — miles-per-hour with the wind and the rain obstructing his vision and the roads a slippery wet mess.

When he got the message, Kevin ran to the passenger side of his car. He did not bother holding his backpack above his head this time; he was already incredibly soaked and the act would make no significant difference.

When he got there, he hopped in and slammed the door shut. His freckled face was red, and his hair — his whole body — looked like he just came fresh out the shower. Instinctively, he shook his head to get rid of some of the water in his hair, and Eddward had to shield himself with his hands to keep the water from dropping onto him. Kevin went wide-eyed and looked around at the car before looking at him.

"Sorry." He said. "And after you offered to give me a ride, too. Damn."

"It is of no worry or concern, Kevin." Eddward said as he opened the small compartment in between the front seats and pulled out some thick and soft tissues. He grabbed two sheets for himself and gave two to Kevin, who graciously took it. "I was far more concerned over your wellbeing whilst operating your motorcycle in these conditions, than the potential wetness my car may succumb to." While saying this, he was scooping up and drying the few water droplets that Kevin had scattered when he shook himself like a dog, but that did not necessarily mean that his words meant any less.

Kevin dried his face and tried to do as much as he could on his hair, but knew that it was useless. He had already created a nice little puddle on Eddward's floor-liners and seat covers, and on top of that, his backpack was surely creating an even bigger mess in the backseat. He held back the urge to flush from embarrassment; he simply could not let Eddward see him so openly flustered.

"I am relieved that you accepted my offer." He said as he finally got the car in gear and fully drove out of the cul-de-sac.

"Yeah, well… thanks for offering." Kevin stated. He leaned against the window of Eddward's car; head half titled up to look at the rain pouring down. It was difficult to see through the continuous falls, and surely even more difficult to drive — for even though the windshield wipers pushed the liquid to the side, it quickly came back. Looking at Eddward, he saw the grip on the steering wheel was tight, with his eyes squinting.

"…This is one shit-lord of a storm, ain't it?" He remarked, trying to make some conversation. While he and Eddward had had their differences in the past, they both did a tremendous amount of growing-up after the situation with Eddy's elder brother brought the kids of the cul-de-sac into their favor, and a wordless friendship had been formed. Numerous times he had sought tutoring help from Eddward, and when Eddward initially struggled to find a sporting club suitable enough for him to help achieve his parents' wishes of wanting him to display himself as an exceptionally full-rounded student to colleges by enlisting in activities of the body, it was Kevin who had helped him to scope out the sports clubs at the school, and even showed him his now-favorite jogging path.

(However, as far as hanging out — spending a day together or tagging along in a group of friends for an outing — the two had never intermingled. They were on a positive basis with one another, but that just made them comfortable acquaintances; not quite friends; friendship was far deeper than that, and Kevin had yet to become to Eddward what Ed and Eddy and the Kankers were, and Eddward had yet to become to Kevin what Nazz and Rolf and even Johnny were.)

"I concur. The weather report both yesterday and today were _immensely_ flawed. From their descriptions of this storm, it was set to be like any other — not worthy of a flood notification." Almost at the exact time that he had said that, Kevin could hear his phone buzz in his jacket's pocket; pulling it out, he came to see that it was a flood notification from the National Weather Service for the Peach Creek area. "The meteorologists must have been… inebriated or, at least, in an incoherent frenzy when they observed and made these reports."

"Right, right." Kevin said, nodding along. He fully agreed with Eddward. What idiot saw this storm and felt it was proper to name it a "light shower" both yesterday _and_ today? "It hasn't rained like this for, like, _months_." He paused to take a look back at his backpack in the backseat. "My homework's probably soaked to Hell and back. God. How am I gonna hand that shit in?"

"Perhaps there would be time to manually reproduce it?" Eddward suggested. "If you were to time your classes down to the last minute and pushed through your current classwork with perfect haste, then you would have enough time to reproduce your assignments and hand them in for the class that they are due in. That is my opinion, at least, stemming from my success rate giving this very suggestion in the past."

"Oh yeah? To who?"

"It was to Eddy to _whom_ I gave the suggestion." Eddward said; trying to correct his grammatical error in a way that was not too in-your-face.

"And did it work?"

"Well…" He chewed it over in his mind for a moment. "To an extent, every experiment has a trial-and-error period — outliers as well."

"I'm guessing he didn't really listen to you, huh?" At this time, Kevin's head was turned to fully focus on Eddward. He eyed the young man as he concentrated at driving — not crashing — the car in this godforsaken weather. It was at this time that he noticed the morning talk show that was playing on the radio at a volume that made it barely audible to his ears. He supposed Eddward, the ever-cautious driver, had turned it down to keep from distracting himself as he tried to navigate these shallow black rivers that would be called "streets" on an average day.

"I will admit: he refused to take my advice the first couple of times. Eddy is quite stubborn and believed that he could find another way out of his predicament — a dishonest way, I am sure." He had let the last part slip out and wanted to retract his statement, but continued to move forward with the conversation in the hopes that Kevin would forget what he had said or not read too much into it, later on. "In the end, after many failures, his last option was my suggestion. He took it. It worked — and it has continued having a high success rate ever since."

"Mmmm… then I'll have to try it out."

They were silent along the ride until they reached downtown Peach Creek, just five minutes away from the Kanker household, and then five back from the school. The shallow black rivers were crowded with cars going in their direction, and had the usual smooth and steady traffic (even for the downtown area), come to a complete halt.

Around them were irate drivers honking if only to get out their frustrations, as it was clear to them all that there would be no guaranteed movement from any sort of miniscule road rage, for quite a long time.

"Oh dear," Eddward said. "This is not good."

"No kidding. Class starts in like ten minutes and this traffic ain't budging." Kevin replied. He looked around in front and behind him; all his eyes saw were various cars of various models and sizes, all practically parked on the shallow black rivers like he and Eddward were. He groaned as he turned back around and sat properly in his seat. "Ain't this a _bitch_."

"Indeed," Eddward said; although he did not necessarily agree with the cuss words that Kevin spewed like it was his native tongue; he especially did not like the derogatory way in which that specific word made the female sex out to be. "However, I must confess to some curiosity as to why. I cannot think of any particular reason for this level of rain to stop downtown traffic altogether. Not unless—"

"Ah don't tell me. The bridge's flooded?"

To get from downtown Peach Creek to where the school was, commuters had to go over a bridge that went over a wide section of the river that gave Peach Creek its namesake. The bridge was not like the massive structures found in popular cities, but rather, a simple, low, wood bridge with its base structure enhanced with steel, that allowed commuters passage. As it was incredibly close to the surface of the water (barely five inches above it), in stormy situations such as the one they currently dealt with, the bridge was shut down due to none other than flooding. There had been a few times in the past when cars had been stuck on the bridge while the heavy flow of the water kept them from moving; once, even, when the windows on a car, on the side of the flowing river, had been cracked from the immense water pressure constantly hitting it.

"Most likely." Eddward said. "I also fear that there is no apparent escape to reverse this situation; not in our position, at least." In the right lane of the two-lane street, Eddward's car was on the furthermost right side; with its left blocked by two cars. While they could easily drive to the other lane and head back to the cul-de-sac, they first had to wait for one or both of the cars to their left and front to realize the predicament, and leave initially.

"Jesus shit Christ…" Kevin muttered under his breath; he slunk back into the car seat and crossed his arms over his chest. The clothes were heavy on him, and he felt disgusting being wet from head-to-toe at that current time. He sneezed; a sign of things much worse to come, later.

"Oh goodness — I completely forgot!" Eddward exclaimed. He reached over to the central console of his vehicle and turned on the heated air on Kevin's side of the car. The warm air blasted through the vents and almost immediately Kevin moved his cold hands in front of it, and began to dry himself properly. "Forgive me, Kevin. I had meant to do that earlier when you first stepped into the passenger's seat, but the act slipped my mind."

"S'okay, man." Kevin said as a small grin played at the edge of his lips as he finally was able to properly dry and warm himself up. "Better late than never."

Eddward gave a shy smile.

His attention was immediately pulled away from Kevin, however, when his phone rang in the inside of his jacket. He unzipped the front enough for him to reach in and grab it, and saw that he was receiving a call from Marie (among the fact that it was also now well past 8am, and that there were numerous text messages and email indications displayed).

He looked at Kevin for a moment, "Excuse me. I must take this." When Kevin nodded in response, Eddward accepted the call and put the phone to his ear. "Greetings, Marie." He said into it.

" **Edd, what gives? I texted you like eight times!"** Marie screamed at him from the other end of the line; although not in a too-harsh way.

"My mistake — I was too preoccupied with ensuring the lives of both myself and my passenger whilst braving the water-drowned roads to school, to even think about the messages that you may or may not have sent me."

" **Are you getting sassy with me?"**

"Not at all. I am wholeheartedly serious."

" **Mmmm…"**

"As well as a tad on the _jaunty_ side, yes." He said with a grin.

Marie snorted. **"Oh whatever. Listen, I was watching the news just now and heard that the roads were closed. Is that true?"**

"It indeed is. My travels are currently postponed due to it, as we speak."

" **The bridge is out, too."**

"I had come to that conclusion not too long along."

" **Okay Mr. Smarty Pants. Did you know that school has been cancelled for the day, as well? It's looking like it might be a freak hurricane or something and the mayor is kinda panicked."**

"I see…" He said; and due to his tone of voice and facial expression when he said this, Kevin turned to him to view what was wrong. He did not want to eavesdrop on the conversation, but was curious as to what Marie Kanker had told Eddward on the other end of the line, that had him saying that.

" **Yeah. It's pretty bad, man."**

"I had not heard of these developments. This makes our predicament even more… restless, it seems." Kevin raised an unseen eyebrow at this; it felt like Eddward was talking to him at that last part.

" _ **Our**_ **?"** Marie asked.

"Yes. I mentioned before having a passenger with me. Did I not? Or were you too distracted by my earlier taunt to notice?"

" **Oh hush you."** Marie said. **"I can hear the smirk in your voice."**

"I will now kindly advise you that I am not smirking. Grinning. Smiling. Beaming, even, would be far better descriptive words to describe the upturned form my lips have taken."

" **Hmph. Is this how you repay me for telling you these important details? Being a** _ **saucy**_ **knave with me?"**

"I assure you that I have not lifted the top off of your pot."

" **Oh… whatever! Just get here for a movie marathon today. May is going all out with the snacks."**

"I will try my hardest to do as such, Marie."

" **You better. See ya when you get here."**

"Goodbye."

" **Buh-bye!"**

The call ended, and he locked the screen of his phone after checking the notification bar to confirm what he suspected all of the messages were about. The texts were from Marie, nine in total; the emails from various online markets he was subscribed to, with one being from the Peach Creek High notifying students of school cancellation. Marie's information had been superb.

"Classes have been cancelled for today." Eddward said as he turned to Kevin. For a moment, he was caught off-guard by coming to see that Kevin had been facing him; surely it had been for longer than just right now, when he had spoken to him at last. The thought of Kevin having stared at — and heard — him while he was having his conversation with Marie, made him rather nervous. He fought back a blush and nervous stutter. The silent Kevin had quite the intense gaze on his face, as well. "U-um… yeah. T-the bridge is also confirmed to b-be—" He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. " _Out_."

Kevin heaved a deep sigh. "This sucks."

"Indeed…" Eddward said tentatively. Now that Kevin was no longer looking intently at him, he could relax. He was always one to get nervous when under the viewfinder of others.

"I suppose you wouldn't happen to have some breakfast on you, would you? I kinda skipped." Kevin said as he put his hand on his stomach.

Eddward shook his head.

"I, too, skipped breakfast. However, if you would like… I do have an engagement coming up with the promise of nourishment for the body."

"Nah. I'll pass. Thanks for the offer, though." He said.

"Very well, then."

The two sat back in their car seats; eyes set on the windowpane in front of them as they watched heavily for any signs of moving traffic. They did not know how long it took for the car to move but an inch or two forward, at their surprise. It was not significant progress, but in this case, it was the sign of _something_ happening in front of them, which was more than good enough given what they had been dealing with so far.

The cars to the side of them showed no signs of turning onto the empty road next to them, and heading out — nor did a single car in front of them, for that matter. If but one car made the move, they could all be out of there within a matter of minutes — yet all stayed perfectly still, as though they were content with being stuck in traffic unnecessarily, or too blind to see the way out.

"Goodness, this is dragging on." Eddward said. He looked at the time displayed on the car's digital clock and found that they had been stuck in traffic for almost two hours. He had already been dealing with all the text messages Marie was sending to him to hurry up already, and felt himself grow anxious as well for his arrival at the Kanker residence. Marie was tempting his speed with delicious details of what May had cooked and what movies they had chosen, and he was more than eager to get there — fighting back the urge to abandon his car and its other patron and walk to the trailer park, at this point, if he were to truly be honest with himself.

"I'm gonna go knock on that guy's window." Kevin said as he gestured to the car to their left, effectively blocking their way out. "I'm gonna see if he at least _knows_ that he can leave at literally any second."

"I would advise against that." Eddward said. "There is the chance that they may not take too kindly to your… intrusion. Human patience tends to disintegrate when in situations such as these."

"Calm down, _dork_ ," Kevin said. "If the guy's pissed, I can handle myself. Besides, I'll be as polite as possible." He grinned, but Eddward was too distracted by the old, once-faded-now-dug-up, nickname that he used in reference to him, to even notice it. It took him a bit to recover from that. "Can I use your umbrella to walk out there?" Kevin asked, effectively snapping him out of his trance.

"Ah! Y-yes, of course!" He said, ruffled, as he reached into the back seat and pulled up his umbrella from beneath Kevin's still-soaked red backpack.

"Something the matter?" Kevin asked, noticing his stupor.

"No! Not at all! I mean… forgive me for raising my voice. There is nothing wrong with me at this current time — please, do go on with your plan. Perhaps it will help us." He handed the closed umbrella over to Kevin, who took it with an appreciative nod of his head.

Kevin then opened the door, and opened up the bubble umbrella. He stepped out as fast as he could, but closed the door as gently as possible that was still deemed effective, to make up for the way that he had slammed it last time. He walked around the front of the car, Eddward's eyes on him, as he made his way over to the car next to them. He headed to the driver's side of the vehicle.

Eddward watched, worried, from inside the safety of his own car. He could no longer see Kevin's form as he hunched himself over to speak with the driver of the car at their upper left. Out of years of conditioning, he chewed at his bottom lip and twiddled with his fingers; while he had certainly changed in the past years both mentally and physically, he was still not one for physical altercations to break loose. It was not that he had no faith in Kevin, but even he recognized that many times things did not go as planned, and there was no telling the type of person the driver behind the wheel in that car, was like.

Finally, his waiting came to an end as he watched as Kevin came into view. He walked, unscathed, in front of his car and then reentered it through the passenger's side; the bubble umbrella was closed and tossed to the back.

"He's gonna move." Kevin told him.

"Really?" Eddward asked out of shock and surprise. "How? Why? I mean… however did you convince him to do such a thing?"

"I mean… the man wants to go home, too." Kevin said with a shrug. "He was killing time with a crossword puzzle or whatever those things are called, and didn't even realize he could move. Like, at all. He thought he was permanently stuck, too — I'm guessing that's how everyone here feels." Eddward nodded; yes, that made an immense amount of sense. "Look," Kevin said, pointing with his finger and grasping his attention in that direction. "He's moving — you get a move on, too."

"Right." Eddward said with a grin.

As the black car made its way out of traffic similarly to pulling out of a parallel parking spot, the car behind it followed suit, and next was them. While they could not see it, more cars followed as people saw the way out — the end of their seemingly eternal imprisonment inside of their own vehicles.

It wasn't long before Eddward reached the cul-de-sac to drop Kevin off. He was happy to come to the street at last — probably more so than Kevin, who's final stop for the day was likely there. He came to a stop in front of Kevin's house.

"Thanks for the… almost ride to school, Edd." Kevin said. (For a moment he took note of the difference that came with Kevin saying his old nickname and his real name; he stored it away for later.)

"You are very welcome, Kevin. Thank _you_ , however, for getting us out of that traffic jam. I would have never considered your actions as our best choice." He admitted. It was not to insult him, but to show how grateful he was that Kevin had been there with him. Had it just been him, he would have sat there for long hours waiting for someone else to make the move — letting the "bystander effect" unknowingly take place in a context of cars and traffic jams.

"It was nothing." Kevin said. He opened the passenger side door, and stepped one foot out of the car. For a moment, he stopped to retrieve his backpack from the back seat.

"Please hold on a moment, Kevin." Edd said. "Would you care to use my umbrella to get back to your abode?"

"Nah, it's fine, man. I can just run like last time."

The rain had not let up from how it had been over two hours ago when he had asked Kevin if he wanted to carpool with him to school, and to hear Kevin say that he would rather be pelted by rain once more than use his umbrella, made him think the young man to be unnecessarily, yet expectedly, stubborn.

"Nonsense…" He said. He grabbed the umbrella from the back seat and opened his door. Before Kevin could do a thing, he had walked over to his side and held the umbrella over them both. "I shall walk with you to more easily return the umbrella. Now come."

Kevin saw really no reason to argue, and agreed. He stood, and Eddward used his five-inch height advantage over him to better center the bubble umbrella on the both of them. In truth, the umbrella only managed to cover their heads entirely, and left much of their body to the elements, but he felt that that was more than enough. He knew that Kevin could deal with the rest of him getting wet, but the sensitive spot that was the human head was an entirely different matter.

Kevin closed the car door, and Eddward escorted him to his house. The rain-carrying wind made their dry and almost-dry pants soaked, but it was not long at all before they were finally at Kevin's front door.

"Lemme just get my keys out." Kevin said.

He moved his backpack to one shoulder to twist it around and make it easier to dig for his keys in its front pockets. Big mistake. The shoulder his bag now blessed its weight on was his injured shoulder, and he hissed and dropped the bag as he felt the prickling, burning sensation that was pain.

" _Fuck_!"

"Kevin?" Eddward looked down at him. He was crouched near the ground and with his head bent down and left arm resting on his right shoulder. From the looks and sound of it, Kevin was in some sort of pain. He immediately went to help him up; grabbing onto his left bicep and slowly assisting him as he rose to his feet.

Kevin let his head fall on his front door; the cool, soaked wood providing a sturdy structure for him to fully lean against and try to hide his embarrassed face.

Eddward frowned.

"You do not have to tell me what is wrong, but…" He paused. He bent down to Kevin's backpack and opened the two front pockets — the pockets he had seen Kevin go for before he hunched himself over in pain — one at a time, first. In one he found Kevin's house keys. Kevin heard the familiar jingle and instructed him on which key he sought. Kevin had removed his body weight from the front door and stood when Eddward opened the door. Eddward then placed the keys back inside their desired pocket when Kevin stepped in, and brought the backpack inside — he, however, made sure not to fully enter Kevin's home. They locked eyes. "Please, do take care of yourself on this free day."

Inside, Kevin felt a tad guilty and bitter over Eddward's statement, but could recognize the truthfulness and necessity behind it, and nodded his head. He moved his jaw around some in a contemplative gesture.

Then, a weak smirk appeared on Kevin's face as he said, "What? Are you worried about me or something?"

He had meant it as a joke, yet Eddward's face grew incredibly serious. His jaw set, his mouth pursed together as his eyes set like steel. "Of course." He said in an affirmative voice. "I _am_ worried. That is the only proper way to respond when someone falls onto the floor unexpectedly."

Kevin's smirk disappeared from his face, and he stared back at Eddward with almost the same level of seriousness on his face. However, he could tell the difference between the two. Eddward was taller and his downward gaze looked more secure than his — who seemed to stare up at him with a hint of wonder in his eyes. Eddward's seriousness came from his concern, his came from his disbelief. He gulped down the lump suddenly forming in his throat, and looked away.

"Honestly…" He, Kevin, muttered. "You're always so worried about me…"

"Well of course! By all regards, Kevin, you are not exactly the most—"

Eddward had been unable to finish his sentence. He had meant to say that Kevin was not the most secure of people in both internal and external parts of his world, and that that only brought on his naturally worried nature. However, before he could say this, Kevin had silenced him by pulling onto the collar of his jacket and bringing his head down to make it easier for him to be kissed.

The kiss was not the longest of kisses; it lasted just long enough to wipe away any doubt of it ever having happened. There was no physical intrusion into Eddward's mouth, either, by Kevin's tongue. It was a kiss that started and ended at lips — and when his mind was finally catching up with what was happening, Eddward was the one to break it.

He leaped back from Kevin's porch and wiped at his mouth. His eyes were wide as he stared at Kevin; whose shocked face at the breaking of the kiss had turned into a downcast set of eyes and face when he looked at Eddward's response.

There was silence.

"Please… _just_ take care of yourself more, Kevin." Eddward said. "If you did that, I would not have to waste my time worrying about _you_."

He left.

* * *

...Let the drama begin!

Next Chapter: Trust me when I say that this isn't the first time this has happened.

Updates **Mondays and Fridays**.

~ Inkle


	4. 4 out of 46

The proof-reading for this chapter was hard because it has a new perspective-type-thing, and I sometimes slipped out of it. It's told in third-person summary format (as in, someone summarizing another person's thoughts during past events), and several times I went into third-person present (like all the other chapters have been told). So yeah. I rewrote a lot of sentences and changed many verbs and the word count went up. Sigh. Well, whatever...

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of the plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for bigots or children. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _4/46_

* * *

About three years ago, his freshman year of high school, he found himself on the verge of dropping out.

He had significantly been slacking in the first half of the semester, and gotten failed marks on the first-quarter finals for that school year. His grades had put him on immediate probation by the guidance counselor at Peach Creek High, and he was informed that if he did not pull his grades up for the second-quarter finals, he would be but one step away from failing the grade without any hope of credit recovery, and being held back. As he did not want to get held back — it was too embarrassing, after all — he decided that if that were to come to be the case, he would instead drop-out of high school.

 _After all_ , he told himself when he had made this life-altering decision during a soccer game playing on the television in his room, _Tons of people drop-out and still land the big bucks — I'll be fine._

Needless to say, he had pulled another set of horrible — "deplorable", "atrocious", "horrendous" — marks on the second-quarter exam finals for the school year. His father had been furious when the counselor called him and informed him of his grades (which he had kept the details secret for and sugared on white lies to calm his worries), and told him that his son was about to be held back in his first year of high school.

" _Can anything be done?"_ He remembered hearing his father say into the phone, the day the call was made. He had been headed down the stairs from his bedroom, worry-free, when he heard his father answer and call out the guidance counselor's name. At that time, he was against the wall, listening in.

He was unable to hear what the counselor said, but his father responded with, _"Of course. Of course. I'll make sure he does just that… Yes… Thank you for informing me of this… Thank you very much."_

The call ended.

" _Kevin_ _!"_

His father then screamed.

There were few times in his life when his father had ever physically disciplined him — and never once had he done it with a belt, like he had done on that night. The black leather belt was searing hot against his flesh, leaving behind angry slashes brighter than his hair. At times he had felt that the belt was breaking his skin and hitting his muscles directly — although he knew that was not the case.

When his father finished, he had heard him say, _"First I get word from the neighborhood kids that you're_ _bullying_ _them and now_ _this_ _."_ His father secured his belt back on his pants and looked down at him; a heaping, sobbing pile of anger and frustration huddled in the fetal position on the floor. _"Honestly, Kev, I just—"_ He paused. His glaring up at his father as he spoke did not make the situation any better, either. His father frowned. _"You're getting a tutor. Pull your grades up with that. Yeah, you failed, but thankfully you were high enough in the 60s to where improving your grades from here on out_ _can_ _make a difference."_ His father then left the hallway and headed into the kitchen. Kevin could hear him ask, _"What do you want for dinner?"_ However, instead of responding, his younger self had rushed up to his bedroom and locked his door. He wanted nothing to do with his dad that night.

.

.

When it finally came time for his first tutoring session, he was accompanied by both his father and the guidance counselor to the school library. They were both well aware of his hatred of their plan to get him a tutor, and as he had threatened to bolt on more than one occasion, they felt it best if they had a handle on him at all times.

His father had a firm grip on his bicep as they walked into the library and were headed to the table where his tutor supposedly sat; his grip was none too hard, though, where it would leave bruises like the belt.

For his tutor, the guidance counselor had introduced him to a _"Eddward Vincent — he's currently in the top percentile of your grade and_ _volunteered_ _to be the one to tutor you after hearing about your… predicament."_

He had snorted then, looking directly at Double-D's face. _"This dork?"_ He had asked — and almost immediately got a firm slap to the back of his head by his father. He looked up at the elder man, then, with eyes ablaze with many merged, undetectable emotions.

" _Be_ _nice_ _, Kevin,"_ his father had said to him. _"Eddward has taken time out of his personal life to help you — the_ _least_ _you can do is show some_ _appreciation_ _."_

Kevin held back the snort that he wanted to let loose. He was silent as the party reached the table where Edd (back then he had not yet asked to consistently be referred to as _Eddward_ ), was standing with numerous textbooks around him. From the looks of it, he had been planning to tutor him on all the subjects that he had been failing, which was all of them.

Kevin remembered not being able to take Edd seriously at that time for two reasons: the mountain of textbooks signifying the task that he was out to do, and how goofy he had looked that day; with a ridiculous expression on his face that he supposed was him trying to smile while still hiding the nervousness that he likely felt, the braces on his teeth glinting, and the bow tie and sweater-vest combination that he had on — with his hat still present on his head, mind you, ruining the harmonious look that he attempted to put on.

" _Greetings, Kevin,"_ Edd had said to him with a wide smile. He held out his hand to shake. _"I hope that we will be able to come out of this situation in a positive place."_

He had not bothered to shake Edd's hand. He completely bypassed it, and his cheerful attitude, and sat down on the chair across from him. It was not that he disliked Edd, but rather, that he disliked the situation that he was in being viewed as something revoltingly negative — and anything to do with that — Edd included — immediately irked him. His father had noticed his "attitude" and tried to get him to properly greet the boy; but Edd had calmed the situation by telling him that it was alright, and that they would just get started.

" _Hm… If you think so,"_ his father had responded at Edd, before turning to look down at his son. _"Kevin, no goofing around. This is your last chance."_

" _Eddward, do try your best."_ The guidance counselor had said.

" _I assure you, Miss Haysmith, I shall."_

The two adults had then left, leaving him and Edd alone. Edd sat back down and Kevin could see the nerves visible on his body. While he had put up a good front around the adults, now it was just the two of them, and Edd could no longer fully hide his light shaking and physical stutters with him having been so keen on picking up the dork's behavior. He was certain that it had not been that Edd feared him at that moment, but rather that he knew how unpredictable the situation was, and was unsure if he could truly deliver the results he had just boasted about a few minutes ago.

" _N-now,"_ Edd said, speaking first, after clearing his throat. _"L-let's get started. Um… which subject would you like to tackle first, Kevin? Which do you find the hardest?"_ He did not respond; his eyes were locked on Edd, his attention clearly on him, his ears clearly having picked up what he said, but he did not respond. He stayed quiet; mouth shut; eyes almost glaring. Edd gulped. _"S-s-some people find the, um, mathematics-based subjects the most difficult since they are more by-the-book with no way to cut edges. Perhaps we shall start with those? Is Physics okay?"_ He did not respond, again. He just kept staring at Edd — or rather, that was Edd's perspective on things.

In truth, he was contemplating what to do. He did not want this tutoring session to occur, and was in no way invested in it. He wanted to get out, but if he left the library so soon, there would be a problem. His father or the guidance counselor might catch him — he had to wait it out for a good hour or so. That, of course, involved just staring at Edd and letting his mind wander. He tried to stare at something else, but quickly got bored; watching Edd fidget was far more entertaining, he had found.

However, Edd had not known this, and surely took it as a sign of him being more intimidating than just bored. He wondered if Edd had thought him to be angry? He had been, at the time, but not with him — Edd had been dragged into this situation, not created it.

For the next hour or so, Edd had gone on trying to cover the subject of Physics. He had listened in on what the other boy was saying, but did not feel himself learning or caring about what was being said. Edd had his head almost nose-deep in the book as he talked and talked about the positives and negatives of the directions in Physics, accounting for movement and resistance. He had tried to get Kevin to do some sample problems to see if he understood anything. He had also stopped at specific intervals to ask him if he was okay and understood him; during these times, Kevin could see the nerves wearing him down and how he could no longer fake being okay with no responses. Edd was incredibly flustered under his gaze, likely feeling under attack in some way with his lack of response.

When it had been passed an hour, he stood. Edd looked up at him, surprised. _"Listen,"_ he had said to him. _"I'm not gonna get some tutor. I don't want or need your help. You can tell Ms. Mayweather I said that."_

" _I-it's_ _Haysmith_ _."_

" _Whatever. Point is: I'm out."_

He grabbed his backpack and left the library.

Later on that day, when he got home, his father asked him how the tutoring session had gone, and he completely ignored him and headed up to his room. He threw his backpack on the floor in an act of aggression, and jumped onto his bed with the plan to drown himself in his videogames.

.

.

Weeks after that had gone by. Winter break came and went, and they were back in school on the fourth of January. As he had been set to go to the school library to meet Edd to study every day during winter break, when he left the house early in the mornings, he would be back around to the other side of the cul-de-sac and sneak into Nazz's house while her family was away. They would hang and chat, and once or twice, he had even found himself kissing her — and only kissing her. Doing more, and even kissing her, did not feel quite right.

He had assumed that once he got back to school, he would be called into the guidance counselor's office to talk about how he had not attended any of his tutoring sessions with Edd. He had even passed Edd on the way to his class, who avoided eye-contact with him at all costs — he took that as a sign that he had told.

However, the day came and went, and nothing happened. The week came and went, and he still had not been called into her office. He was confused. Edd definitely had to have told on him — did the woman just not care anymore and was finally going to stop pestering him? He hoped so.

It was not until he pulled another failing grade from the first major exam of the term, ironically, in his Physics class, that he was given a call.

" _Are the tutoring sessions not working?"_ She asked him in the privacy of her office. _"Eddward had said that you were there every day, on time, and seemed to be picking up the material well. I was looking forward to a good result on this exam, Kevin."_

When he had heard that, Kevin could not quite believe it. Edd had lied about his being there? Why on Earth would he do that?

" _There are, of course, retakes for this exam since it is not a term final. Be sure to use this as a study guide for your next session with Eddward this afternoon, Kevin. You can't fail any of your upcoming class assignments if you want to pass."_

Kevin had taken the test from her hands and walked out of her office. He had immediately sought after Edd — but he did not know his class schedule, nor did the two share any classes or even common friends that would know where he was. He supposed he would have to wait until after school, at the library, to see him and get some answers. He stuffed the failed exam into his backpack and headed to his fifth period class.

Throughout the day, he hoped to see Edd so he could talk to him then, but he could not find him or his friends, the other Eds, anywhere. He remembered thinking that Edd was probably purposely avoiding him for some reason — no, not for _some_ reason. He was avoiding him because he likely thought Kevin hated him and would not want to see his face — yet he still lied to the guidance counselor about his being at their sessions over winter break. He did not understand. He also was not able to catch Edd throughout the school day, but when the time came, he was able to find him in the library; at the same table that he had been at, with the same materials, on the first day of the tutoring session.

" _K-k-kevin?"_ Edd has asked when he looked up from doing what could only be his homework, and locked eyes with him. He clearly had not expected him there; he had probably already felt that Kevin would never come back to the library after what happened the first day.

" _Why did you lie and say that I was here every day?"_ He was straight to the point. Edd seemed to shrink under his gaze, and looked away. _"_ _Dork_ _. Answer me."_

" _W-w-w-well… I thought that… m-maybe you were j-just having a hard time digesting the situation? I doubt that this a pleasant turn of events, and you were most likely aggravated and angry and were not sure what to do. Th-that was my hypothesis, at the least. So I decided to t-test it and… give you some time to come around — although I never really thought…"_ His voice trailed off.

Kevin took some time to digest the situation. He looked at Edd for a good couple of minutes, and then focused on the ever-so familiar setup in front of him. While Edd _had_ been doing his own work in the library, the books from their first session were still stacked on a pile next to him. Kevin's brows furrowed.

" _Were you here…_ _every_ _day?"_

" _I thought that I had to be — i-in case you decided to come back one day, of course."_

He sighed.

He could feel something bubbling unpleasantly in the pit of his stomach, and pulled up a chair and took a seat. Edd had looked up at him, but he, Kevin, had his hands covering his face as he chewed on his lips. He knew the feeling in his stomach — guilt and frustration — it had not left him since the first meeting with the guidance counselor telling him that he was on academic probation.

He had not been very happy at that meeting. In truth, he knew that what he was doing was likely hurting his future, but he blinded himself with delusions of grandeur to get by. It was just… that in the past couple of weeks, before the new school year had begun, he had been feeling rather down. His strained motivation had felt as though it was reaching its limits, and he began to find it harder and harder to get out of bed. Yet he did. He forced himself to. The results of which being that he spent so much effort just getting out of bed, that he did not seem to have any to pay attention in school and act as he should — he felt as though he literally did not have any more care to give.

He sighed, feeling a bout of the anti-motivation wave that he was now constantly plagued with, rolling up over his shoulders.

" _Look, Edd—"_ He started, but he was unable to finish. He slumped back into his chair and took some deep breaths. The wave of anti-motivation crashed into him and he suddenly felt like being under his comforter in his bedroom, where he could deal with this where eyes would not be on him.

He bit his bottom lip.

" _K-kevin, if I may…"_ Edd's voice was low and soft, and there was a detectable level of concern and worry and _help_ that made Kevin look up and stare at the boy. _"It is… none of my business but…"_ He paused. He seemed to be chewing something over in his own mind. _"Sometimes… t-talking… and getting the level of help and support that you_ _really_ _need,_ _helps_ _."_ He stood and began to pack away all of the items that he had brought to the tutoring session. _"My recommendation — and you truly do not have to take it if you do not want — is that you go have a proper talk with a figure you trust, and find what you_ _need_ _. I do not think that right now, what needs to be initially focused on, is the_ _result_ _of your current state."_

He had his backpack on his two shoulders and the five textbooks that he had brought with him, in his hands. Kevin could see that he was having difficulty holding up all the books, but Edd did not seem ready to admit that.

" _We can pick up on tutoring, if you would like, when you are ready. You have my best wishes."_ When Edd began to leave, Kevin stood almost out of reflex. He got in front of the smaller, yet somehow taller, boy and grabbed the textbooks from his hands. Edd was surprised, to say the least. _"What—"_

" _We can talk after you finish helping me. I have a retake for Physics coming up."_ He took the books back to the table and laid them down. In truth, he did not know what brought him to do what he did. In truth, all he could clearly make sense of was that when Edd had spoken to him just now, it seemed like he could, dare he say it, _relate_ to however it was that he was feeling; Kevin felt as though he had been able to read that on Edd's expression — and he responded to it. In truth, it was the first thing he had positively responded to in regards to this subject, in a very long time.

Edd had still been stunned, but he sat at the table and after a few moments of staring at him and deliberating in his mind, a smile came across his face.

" _Well then, let us start."_

.

.

The tutoring session, he would admit, had gone well. Edd had been very attentive and yet covered all the material that had been the center of his failed test, and of his retake, with surprising quickness; and despite the speed, he was able to pick-up on every word and correction, and had all of his questions heard and resolved. It was similar to having a one-on-one classroom lesson that was much more suited to his way of learning. They had even covered so much so quickly, that they managed to dip into other subjects, too.

When it was all over, the library was closing and it was incredibly dark. As it was past the last-call for locker usage at Peach Creek High, they had to take the textbooks with them to their home instead of getting the luxury to enter the school for a few minutes to leave them in their lockers.

He carried the books, despite Edd's persistence in trying to get one or two carried by him.

" _I told you already, dork, I got this."_

" _Yes, I am well-aware of that, however—"_

" _Then stop asking me if you're so_ _aware_ _of it. They're just books and don't even weigh that much — even if it's five of them. Jeez…"_

" _I-I see… very well, then."_

Since it was so late, he knew that his father was probably already at work by then. The man pulled 13-hour shifts at his place of work, certain days. As thus, he had to depend on his trusty bicycle to get him home that day; it would be a pain what with having to take the five textbooks with him, but he knew that some way, somehow, it could be done.

When they reached the bike rack where his was the only one left, he handed the textbooks to Edd momentarily before going to unchain it and set it up. When he was hopping on his bike, he took a look around the almost-empty parking lot and then asked Edd, _"When are your parents coming to pick you up? I can wait here until they come, if you want."_

" _O-oh!"_ Edd exclaimed, caught by surprise. Kevin noticed the shuffle of his feet — the shuffle of his whole body — as pink crept onto his face. _"I— m-my parents are still h-hard at work at the night shift in the hospital. Th-they will not be able to pick me up — I-I think I will just…_ _walk_ _."_

" _What are you, crazy?"_ Kevin asked, his face showing signs of annoyance. _"There's no way a kid like you can walk home at night. Come on. Hop on."_

Edd blushed heavily at his statement, and looked ready to decline and tell him that he was alright with walking home at the night's current level of darkness — (that he had done it several times before) — but he would have none of it. He gave Edd a look that told him that he would not accept any nonsense or excuse, and to just hop on.

" _This honestly saves me the trouble of figuring out how I'm gonna take these textbooks home on my bike."_ He said, in a pseudo form of encouragement to Edd. _"Sit in front of me since there's more space to hold them there."_

" _Will it not be difficult for you to peddle? My body will surely be an obtrusive force."_ Edd asked.

" _Not even. You're as light as Sarah and we're like the same height — I'll be able to peddle just fine."_

Edd nodded and went to sit in front of Kevin on the bicycle, with the textbooks in his lap. Kevin moved back a little to give Edd more surface on the bicycle seat so he was not stuck with the narrow end. He had never been so glad before for having opted to get a bigger seat when he removed the back part off of his trusty, childhood bicycle. When Edd was settled and had his feet on the front foot pegs for leverage, as well as one hand at the front in between his handle bars — comfortable, he had assured him he was — he began to maneuver the bicycle out of the school parking lot. In truth, it was a tad harder to peddle with Edd's body in front of his own, but that was only because he was not used to having someone ride in front; typically, it had always been in the back, using the pegs there and grabbing onto his shoulder.

For almost the whole ride, Edd's back was flush against his chest. He could tell the smaller boy was nervous from how he pressed himself more and more against him, as though to be protected by the cage that was his arms holding onto the handlebars at either side.

He had honestly never been that physically close to the boy, in his entire life.

During the ride, however, the shaking boy had said to him, _"E-earlier you s-said that after the s-session we would… t-t-talk — a-a-about your p-p-p-problem…"_ He sounded like he was about to be sick — like any second now he was going to throw-up — and he supposed that was why Edd had brought up that topic; to focus his mind on something other than the bike ride, which was making him nauseous.

" _Ah, yeah — I forgot."_

" _Y-y-y-you do not—"_

" _Nah, forget it. I will. I gotta at some point, right?"_ He smirked even though Edd could not see it. It was probably a defense mechanism for himself, trying to make a joke out of the situation, as he began to tackle a touchy subject. The smirk faded and there was silence besides the sounds of him peddling and the bike moving forward. It took him a while to say, _"I… really can't explain it much, to be honest… I just…_ _can't_ _take this anymore…"_

He felt on the verge of tears, now that he was finally confronting the millions of feelings that had been building up inside of him; but he would not dare cry in front of Edd, even though he could not see him. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and blinked to keep the tears back.

" _I just—"_

" _F-find it h-h-hard to do simple t-t-tasks like get out of b-bed."_ Edd started, silencing him with how close to his current predicament that was. _"Y-y-you know something i-i-is wrong, and you p-p-probably even know w-_ _why_ _s-something is wrong, bu-but… You c-c-cannot seem to duh-duh-do anything about it… No matter h-how hard you try…"_

"… _Yeah— Edd, have you—"_

" _I-it is actually q-q-quite common, eh-even though it is o-often misdiagnosed in yuh-yuh-youth…"_ He knew it. Edd _had_ dealt with something like that. Knowing that made him feel… better, really. He was not alone in this. There was someone who understood — someone who could explain it to him and even _help_ him; because gosh did he need help; he hated to admit it, but he needed it badly; and so far, the help he was getting, which focused on the _results_ , was not what he truly needed — just like Edd had led to in the library.

He suddenly felt bolder and braver discussing those topics. For the rest of the ride to the cul-de-sac, he was honest to both himself and Edd about what was going on. At one point, he _had_ started to cry, and did not hold back. He did not care about how Edd may view him for the crying — it felt like his soul needed it.

When they reached the cul-de-sac, he stopped in front of Edd's house, first. The smaller male was shaky as he got off of the bicycle, and Kevin found that he had to grab him by his upper body to help him to smoothly get on the sidewalk when he almost tripped during his dismount; the textbooks, at this time, were abandoned on the floor until Edd was stable once again.

" _F-forgive me for that… disorderly display…"_ Edd commented, blushing.

Kevin shrugged at it. He found it more humorous than "disorderly", to be honest. He had never before seen someone who got, well, bike-sick, before.

" _It's fine, just… be more careful next time."_ Kevin said to him. Edd nodded and went to reach for the textbooks, but Kevin was faster and got them before he did. _"I told you that I'll be taking these home, today."_ Kevin said. _"I still got a lot of studying left to do, on my own…"_

" _Ah, yes, correct. I had… forgotten."_

He and Edd had stood at the sidewalk in front of Edd's house awkwardly. A lot of things had been confessed between the two of them on the ride there, and in its aftermath, he was sure that Edd was just as uncertain about how to act, as he had been. He watched Edd shuffle his feet, and Kevin gave a deep sigh; bringing about the first bit of noise to break the very awkward silence between them.

" _I'll, uh, see you in the library tomorrow, Edd."_

Edd perked up, smiling.

" _Yes, do come. I will be waiting there for you."_

He had unconsciously snorted at how eager and cheery — how happy — Edd sounded when he heard this. _"Whatever, dork."_ He spat out of reflex, and not with a hint of anger or frustration in his voice. _"Goodnight…"_

" _Goodnight, Kevin."_

He had stood there until Edd walked into his home, giving a wave back at him. After, he put the textbooks on the seat of his bike and walked himself over to his house. The bike went into the garage from the side door that he unlocked, and he then entered his home from there, textbooks under his arms. The house was empty like he had expected, but in the dark he moved easily to the stairs and up to his bedroom; where he remembered sitting at his studying desk and committing himself to studying for the next few hours, only getting up to get a snack or to pee.

.

.

The following tutoring sessions after that were very fruitful.

He was picking up on the material and suddenly pulling grades that had his father and the guidance counselor — but most importantly, himself — _proud_. The good wave of grades was kicked-off with a near perfect score on the retake of the Physics exam that he had failed the week before. His exams after that, in both Physics and his other subjects, were marked in the high 80s and above. It boosted his ego, and he found himself wanting to do _more_. He even felt determined and confident enough to ask for and complete extra credit.

It was not all the seamless ride to success he was making it out to be, though. There were several nights that seemed harder than the rest and had him crying and on the verge of giving-up. During these nights, instead of burying himself under his bed covers, he found himself going over to Edd's, to talk.

The first night that he had done that, Edd was caught off guard and awkward — but more than happy to listen. They sat in his kitchen where Edd prepared some tea that he said always helped him during times like those, and he talked, and Edd listened, and he felt himself getting better. The next few times this happened, Edd was up and a pot of tea was already brewing. Eventually, Edd had asked him for his number, and he gave it to him, and Edd would start to call him every night when he was up studying, just to make sure that he was okay. Each time the phone rang and he saw _Vincent_ in the Caller ID, he gave a sigh of relief and a small smile crept on his face. Sometimes there was something to vent about, and other times there was not, but it was the action of calling to make sure that he was okay that spoke volumes to him and made him happy.

He liked Edd, he decided at one point. He was a good kid who was doing so much to help him, even though he made it seem as though what he was doing was normal — which, probably, it could be. He had said several times that what he was doing was common sense — he was not going out of his way to do anything, like Kevin had once said that he was. He liked Edd — he was a good friend.

In time his grades pulled up, but he found that to move onto the next grade, he would only have to complete summer school — he had never before been more excited in his life about hearing those words. He would not flunk the grade; he just needed one more, summery month of work and he could move on with all of his pals to his sophomore year of high school. He remembered how he had felt getting this news from the guidance counselor — she looked ecstatic for him, but inside, he was probably jumping more in his seat than she was.

When it came to telling his father the good news, he had been a tad apprehensive. While his father's mood had improved when he saw his last report card, sporting more Bs than Cs and even one A, he wasnot sure how he would feel hearing about how his son would have to go to summer school to fully make-up the material. He remembered how his father had walked into his room in a rush that day, and he had assumed it was to yell at him for something — for his report card, when he saw the piece of paper in his father's hands and remembered what time of the year it was — until his father hugged him, and gave him a kiss on the head — and then said that for dinner, to celebrate, they would have his favorite.

He was contemplative about that the whole ride back to the cul-de-sac, with Edd sitting in front of him yet again. After each study session, it had become habit that the two boys ride back on Kevin's bicycle since Kevin's father was not home, and neither were Edd's parents.

He had, admittedly, shared his worries with (a bike-sick) Edd.

" _Huh-he will be v-v-v-very happy to hear that, Kuh-kevin…"_ Edd said. _"I-it is, after all, f-f-f-f—"_ Edd paused in his talking; he could hear the sound Edd's head made when it went against the middle of the handlebars where his hands were, and could even hear him deeply breathing. He had stopped the bike then, to make it easier for Edd to regain his composure. He still found it ridiculous that Edd was capable of getting motion sickness on his bike, but that did not mean that he would just allow Edd to remain suffering for long periods of time without allowing him a break.

" _T-th-thank you…"_ Edd said, when the bike finally came to a stop.

" _Take your time."_

They stood on the road for a few minutes. Edd sat on the edge of the sidewalk, his head in his hands, and he remained on his bike, where he was most comfortable. After some time, Edd cleared his throat, grasping his attention, and said, _"A-as I was saying, before… B-before my… disorderly display—"_ He rolled his eyes at Edd calling his previous actions that, again. _"—Your father will be quite happy to hear that all which you must do is complete some weeks of summer school. With the alternative being getting held back, he cannot deny that this is_ _much_ _better."_

" _Yeah… I know…"_ He said; he lifted his hat for a brief moment to shuffle around his hair, before putting it right back on his head. _"I just… I dunno, man. I can't explain while this is freaking me out so much."_

" _You do not need to."_ Edd said as he rose from the sidewalk and patted at the back of his clothing — probably in order to get rid of dirt there. _"An explanation is not necessary — the actions are what matters. I believe that you ought to walk into your household today and be_ _excited_ _. Your father responded well to your improved grades, no?"_ Kevin nodded. Edd smiled; his braces glistening under the streetlights. _"Then I can only imagine the level of his elatedness when he hears that you_ _shall_ _be passing onto the next grade, and that all that is required of you is a simple session of summer school. Those are my thoughts."_

Kevin's flat-lined mouth slowly turned into a smile. _"Get on,"_ he said to Edd. _"I gotta get home early so I can wake-up and tell him when he gets back."_

Edd was not eager to get on the bike once again — he knew this — but did, in an act that he would later know was done because Kevin needed to get home, and he did not want to keep him occupied much longer. When Edd was on, he made sure to pull Edd as flush against him as possible, and to cage him in with his arms, too, because he knew that one of the things that helped Edd to get through the bike rides each day, was to focus on one solid, immovable piece of his surroundings — him, Kevin. He heard Edd breathe deeply, and this time, instead of in front of him, Edd's hands are wrapped around his arms.

" _Please be quick…"_ Kevin heard Edd mutter low beneath his breath.

He nodded and took off. He had gone at what he considered then to be his fastest speed, ever, on the bike with Edd on it, and made sure to reach the cul-de-sac in but three minutes — two ahead of his usual time from their previous stopping point. He, like always, helped Edd get off of the bike and held him until the boy was steady on his feet and had his equilibrium back.

" _Guh-good lord…"_ He heard Edd mutter when he was recollecting himself. _"I am quite glad to not have chosen being an astronaut as my dream profession."_

" _You wouldn't even last through the training."_

" _Quite right."_

Edd finally stood on his own two feet after a little while, and Kevin let go. Edd moved back some fixed his clothes, he watching him quietly — calmly — until Edd lifted his head and said to him, _"There is a vehicle in your driveway."_

" _What?"_ He remembered feeling both panic and shock as he turned his head to look over at the other side of the street, and spotted his father's car under the lights of his garage. _"He's… home early…"_ Suddenly the bravado he had put on when Edd and he had re-gotten on the bike, melted away. His stomach churned. His mind reverted back to the state it had been in those five minutes before, a worried pile of mush in his skull.

" _Would you…"_ Edd started. _"Would you require… a physical presence for encouragement as you explain the situation to your father?"_ He asked tentatively. He turned to him, confused. Edd went on saying, _"Would you like me to be there… w-while you tell him — as in… sh-shall I go with you?"_ He was fiddling with his hands and shuffling his feet, and he recognized those signs as Edd's nervousness and anxiety, and steeled himself as he shook his head "no".

" _I can do it on my own — but… I… might have to call you, later, if something goes on, ya know…"_

" _I shall sit near my house phone, then."_

He had managed a slight grin for Edd, and Edd smiled a bit, too. The two of them then separated and he took the short bike ride across the street, to his house. It was one of the most maddening rides to his house, that he had ever taken. When he was going in from the side of the garage door, when he looked up back over at Edd's house to see if he had already gone in, he was (happily) surprised to see that Edd had yet to leave that spot where he had left him, in front of his house. He gives a nod at the boy, happy that the side door light wass on and allowing Edd to see it. Edd gives him what he thinks was a double thumbs-up (since it was darker on Edd's side and he had a hard time seeing him clearly), and he then took a breath and entered his home.

He left his bicycle in the garage — (where but a few months after would house him day and night as he worked on his motorcycle) — and went into his house to find his father in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich.

" _Hey dad. You're home early."_ He had said.

" _Oh, Kevin, I thought that was you."_ His father said to him. He watched as his father went about licking his fingers of some tuna salad. _"Want something to eat?"_

" _No thanks, actually…"_ He paused; his hands had gone into his pockets and his feet shuffled — almost copying Edd, exactly. He had never really felt so nervous in front of his father before; not even when he had been made to confess fully on his sinking grades in class. His dad, being his dad and knowing him so well, had caught on quicker than he would have liked.

" _What's wrong? It's school, isn't it?"_ His father's voice had been deep and grave, and he could hear concern and worry — (and anger, maybe anger) — in it.

He swallowed. _"I… heard from the guidance counselor. Y-you know her, right? Ms. Hayweather —_ _Haysmith_ _, I mean!"_

" _You're stalling, son."_ His father's word had been like a punch to the gut. _"Please just…"_ He paused for a brief moment. His eyes closed and he began to move around his arm in a moment of both bracing himself for what he was about to say, and possible reevaluating the life choices that led to that. (He always wondered if his father regretted having him as a son, during that entire ordeal.) _"Out with it."_

" _I gotta go to summer school — to pass."_

There was silence for a moment.

" _Summer school?"_

" _Y-yeah… If I can do well there, I'll have recovered all my credit and be able to move on without any problem…"_

" _That… that's great news!"_ His father's face lit up and the man moved faster than he had ever seen him, as he went over to him and grasped his shoulders. On his father's face was the brightest smile he would ever see. He was shocked at first, but when his father said, _"Why didn't you just_ _say_ _that? You'll be able to pass? You won't be held back? That's all I've been wanting these past few months — son, I am so_ _happy_ _to hear this!"_ He smiled then, too, and all his past thoughts poofed out of his mind like smoke.

" _I thought you were gonna be angry!"_ He said to his father, laughing, and earned a firm slap on his shoulder for it; it was not out of anger, he knew, but out of his own silliness for thinking that.

" _Don't be ridiculous!"_ His father said. _"Why would I be angry?"_

" _Because it's_ _summer school_ _!"_ He replied. _"You told me you_ _never_ _wanted me going there!"_

" _That was if it was for you failing — but this means that you're_ _succeeding_ _! This is great news —_ _great_ _news! Come, we gotta celebrate this. I made some tuna fish sandwiches but… how do you feel about pizza?"_

The next few hours had been spent with him and his father happily chatting on the couches in the living room and watching sports and eating pizza, and when it came time to retire for the night, he called Edd — who was more than delighted to hear how well things had turned out for him, and gave him a well-deserved and positive _"I told you so."_

.

.

Summer school came and went. Just like he had predicted, with the help of Edd who stayed loyally at his side, he was able to finish making up all the course work and earned all the credits he needed to make his moving on to the tenth grade, concrete and final. When he went one summer day to get his report card from summer school in person, and read this news in a separate letter attached, he grinned from ear-to-ear and immediately rushed over to Edd's house.

" _Hello, Kevin, how—"_

" _I passed!"_ He shouted when Edd opened the door. _"I finished! I mean— look! I did it! I completed summer school — I'm not getting held back!_ _Officially_ _!"_

" _Th-that is fantastic news to hear, Kevin!"_ Edd exclaimed, smiling. _"I am quite jubilant for you. Congratulations."_

" _Yeah, well… I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for all your tutoring. And, you know… all the other stuff, too…"_ In truth, it was not the explaining of the course subjects and their materials that ended up helping him, he felt; it was all the nights of talking and listening and feeling better that truly, _truly_ , made the difference. It was the act of being understood, and getting the help he _needed_.

 _That_ was what helped him pass. He felt that in earnest.

" _I am very glad to hear that…"_ Edd said, his voice soft and still exuding happiness; but on a different level than before. More relieved.

" _Yeah… Listen, Edd—"_ He pauses when he looks up to meet Edd's eyes. He was stunned. Edd was crying.

" _I-I am… v-very happy for you."_ He was shaking, too.

" _W-w-w-what's wrong?"_ He was caught off guard. What had Edd crying? Did he say something wrong? No. That could not have been — their conversation had so far had been something very pleasant and friendly; almost like a small, one-on-one celebration between the two. How could that have possibly made Edd sad? He had not been able to understand.

He had completely missed the fact that Edd was _smiling_ and was unable to connect that with the chance that Edd's tears were not of sadness, but of happiness. However, he began to see that when Edd began to wipe at the tears and his metal-filled smile was more prominent; as well as his laughter.

" _F-forgive me for frightening you just now, Kevin,"_ Edd said as he continued to smile and cry. _"I— There is nothing wrong. I am simply… so relieved!"_

" _What?"_ Kevin asked.

" _I am so happy for you!"_ He exclaimed more loudly; his hands were away from his face and Kevin could then clearly see all the positive signs of expression that made up the boy's face. He had gone wide-eyed at them. _"I… To speak candidly, I have been so worried about you these past few months, Kevin. I saw how hard you were working and was doing calculations at each interval to see if the progress you were making was_ _enough_ _. I had never concluded that it was, and that made me sick to my stomach, until the day you brought up summer school, which I had never considered as a factor before then. I had always kept my calculations strictly to the end of the school year. Haha! I had been so perturbed and frightened but now? Now you—!"_ Edd's happy tears flowed faster, and Kevin soon smiled and began to laugh, himself.

His hand went to wipe at Edd's tears. _"Dork. You had me scared there for a second. I thought something had been_ _wrong_ _."_

" _F-forgive me. I did not mean to come across like that. I assure you, all is well."_ As though to encompass everything and anything into his statement, Edd briefly stopped his fit of laughter and happy-tears and looked directly into his eyes. _"All is well…"_

Looking back now, he could recall the exact things that had brought him to his next actions. He remembered feeling overjoyed for several reasons: Edd was not crying out of sadness. Edd was more than happy for him. Edd had been worried for him all this time. Edd had tried to make sure that he finished the school year. Not to mention, there were also the factors that came not from Edd's actions, but Edd, himself. The tears on his face. The wide smile. The open book of emotions in his blue eyes. The… dorkiness of it all, really.

With these things in mind, his hands had travelled from Edd's cheeks, down the sides of his face, where he cupped them and — with an action that he had then said was due to his not-thinking, but now knew that that was entirely wrong — then moved his face closer to meet.

He remembered smiling against the kiss, and thinking that Edd was smiling, too, because he had been when he was crying and so, _naturally_ , he would have been smiling against the kiss, no?

No.

Edd had not smiled.

Edd had instead pushed Kevin back with more force than either of them had known he was capable of, and slammed the door in Kevin's face. He had stood stunned on the other side of the door for quite some time, before he began banging on it asking Edd, once again, what was wrong.

" _Edd? Edd! Edd, open this door! I'm sorry! What's wrong?!"_

The only response he had gotten was, _"Go away! Do not come near me!"_ It was the only guidance he had received, and could follow.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this... not so much "peek" as a "direct look" into what happened between Eddward and Kevin their freshman year. There's of course going to be constant mention of it going forth, so I'm glad you'll all be knowing what exactly went down. For the moment, though, I enjoyed writing the subtle fluff between the two. =u=

Next Chapter: This flashback is nice, but... Let's go back to the current time stream for a bit, okay?

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	5. 5 out of 46

*sits down* *gets comfy* *sips hot chocolate* Prepare yourselves... this chapter has a lot of heavy emotions. So get warm and comfy now, because it most certainly will not remain that way.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _5/46_

* * *

The following day, it continued to rain.

While he was unable to jog on rainy days, he still got up early — admittedly, earlier than his regular time — and quickly prepared himself for the day. On rainy days such as that, it was often his job to transport the Kankers to and from school — after all, Lee's vehicle did not come with a convertible top, and on rainy days, she never let it out from under the plastic tent she made with a tarp that she draped over it whenever she saw even the slightest _hint_ of clouds forming above the sky that could lead to rain.

She had even once left school early because she felt it would start to rain while she was there, and was not willing to risk her "baby" getting wet. This had left Marie and May stranded at the school, and he stepped up to be the one to take them home. He remembered the argument the three sisters had had — two against one — when they reached the Kanker Residence and found Lee's pink T-bird protected under its tarp, and Lee sitting on the couch eating Cheetos. Somewhere in between all the yelling and screaming, it had been decided that, from then on, whenever it was to rain, it would be _his_ responsibility to take the sister trio to the school and later on back home.

In all truth and honesty, he did not argue against it because he felt that arguing would not change a thing. He was outnumbered — three to one — in the decision, and in the end, he was not even bothered by it.

He, in all truth and honesty, was happy to help.

He had just grabbed onto his umbrella and was ready to step out of his door, when he heard a knock against it, first. His brows furrowed, and he looked through the peephole in the door, first, before deciding whether to open it or not.

He was shocked to see Mr. Barr — Kevin's father — on his doorstep.

"Greetings, Mister Barr," Eddward said when opened the door and made eye-contact with the shorter-yet-older, man. "Whatever do I owe this visit to?"

"Hello, Eddward," Mr. Barr said with a smile on his face. He was still dressed in what Eddward considered to be his night clothes, and was standing under a black umbrella. "Sorry to come by here so early, but I wanted to know if there was the chance that you could take Kevin to school, again?"

Eddward's eyes went wide with shock; his heart seemed to plunge into the acid of his stomach — but only for a moment, as he quickly fixed his composure the next.

"Mister Barr, I would be… happy to accept the request, however… may I ask why?" He knew that despite Kevin's motorcycle, the family owned another vehicle in the form of a car, and Mr. Barr _did_ go through the proper licensing process to be capable of driving his son to school. He could, in theory, and as far as he knew, take his son to school that day.

(He had also brought up the option of having Kevin's friends from the cul-de-sac drive him, but when he looked over at Nazz's house, he found her convertible gone — he was forced to immediately drop that as an option.)

"My car needs some repairs and Kevin can't drive his motorcycle — not that I would ever let him when it's raining. That thing provides no type of protection against the elements and I _told him_ he wasn't ever allowed to drive it like this, but—" He cut himself off; catching himself as he ranted about his son and his stubbornness, to the kind young man who had just said that he would be taking him to school. He did not want to turn Eddward off from the action, in any way. However, he completely missed the small — _small_ — smile on Eddward's face as he saw the ranting as a father's concern for his son. "Point is," Mr. Barr said after clearing his throat, "Kevin can't drive his motorcycle. Not just because he's injured, but also because of the rain. Period."

"Injured…" Eddward commented. An image of yesterday, of Kevin on the floor of his front door clutching his right shoulder with his left hand, came into Eddward's mind. "His shoulder?" He asked as clarification.

"Yeah. It was already in bad shape from Monday but he messed it up _even more_ yesterday. Honestly…" Mr. Barr punctuated his sentence with a shake of his head.

"Very well then, Mister Barr. I understand. I will say again that I am more than happy to acquiesce to your request—" (He thought to himself how he likely should have toned down how he felt being forced to accept the request, but he simply could not do that. Mr. Barr was a kind man who had never done Eddward any wrong. _He_ was not the problem.) "—However, may I ask that you ensure that he is ready, immediately? I must go and chauffeur another set of friends today due to the rain, as well."

"Oh! I see. Yes, I will get him out of the house right now. He's eating breakfast, anyways."

"That is good to hear. Please do."

"Will everything be okay, though? Kevin won't be too extra of a person, will he?"

(For a moment he considered lying.) "Not at all. We will all be able to fit perfectly into my car."

"That's good to hear. Thank you again for doing this, Eddward. I'll see to it he's out of the house in the next couple of minutes." With that, Mr. Barr left his porch, and with his black umbrella shielding him from the rain, lightly jogged back over to his own home to get his son ready to be driven to school.

Eddward sighed when the father disappeared behind his glossy red door.

In his mind, as he stepped out of his house and closed and locked the front door, he told himself to be cool. As he opened his umbrella, he told himself to not think too much on the negative, magnified thoughts that were suddenly invading him. Walking to his car, he breathed and reminded himself that he was doing a good deed — and to focus on just that, the deed. Not the person it involved, but the _deed_ , itself.

 _You are doing a good thing, Eddward,_ he inwardly thought as he unlocked his door and stepped into his car, _Remember that. Focus on that._ _Live_ _that. Certainly nothing terrible will arise from this — good deeds are often not targets for punishment or negative magnifications of thoughts._

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he hit the push-to-start button — ignoring completely the fact that his hand was _shaking_ — and began to pull out of his driveway. As he did so, using the image the back cameras in his car provided for him of his surroundings behind him, currently displayed on the front touch screen of the center console, to help him keep from hurting or hitting anyone or anything as he continued to drive in reverse, he could not help himself as he repositioned his front mirror and made it focus on the Barr Residence across from his house. He saw Kevin and his father stepping out of their home, with Mr. Barr holding the black umbrella he had used to get to the Vincent Residence, over his son's head instead of his own.

A new lump formed in this throat; bigger and harder to swallow than the last. When he did, he felt as though he could feel it dunk down into his stomach, and try to sink his body. His grip tightened on the steering wheel. He bit his lip almost hard enough to draw blood, too.

 _Keep cool, Eddward._

He finished pulling out and then put the shift into drive, and made his way counter-clockwise around the cul-de-sac, to come to a stop at Kevin's house.

He unlocked the passenger's door next to him, and waited while Mr. Barr escorted his son over to the car. Not only was Mr. Barr holding his umbrella above Kevin, instead of himself, but he also seemed to be carrying Kevin's backpack rather than letting his son do it. The expression on Kevin's face spoke of some level of annoyance and embarrassment at his father's overprotective actions — or at least, he inferenced it would have, as he avoided looking at Kevin's face.

It was also Mr. Barr who opened the door for Kevin.

"Pops, I could _at least_ have done that." Kevin said as he stepped carefully into the car.

(He held himself back from cringing.)

"Hmph. Watch your tone." Mr. Barr said with a gruff facial expression. However, it was lost to the lines on his face as he removed his son's backpack from his shoulders and put it at his feet inside of the car. "There's an umbrella inside. Use that when you come home."

"Why couldn't you have let me use it now?"

"Because Eddward needs to go and we don't have time to mess around with some umbrella — and mine was already out." Mr. Barr turned his head up to look at Eddward. Eddward seemed to notice the gaze on him and moved his head up to look respectably at the older man. "I hope it also won't be too much to ask you to keep an eye on him today, Eddward? Knowing him, he's bound to try and take the sling off for some dumb reason."

"Pops, I _said_ I would wear it all day already, damn…"

His father smacked him across the head. A quick, almost painless slap that was not really meant to do any sort of harm to him.

" _Watch it_." He reiterated. Then he sighed. "Just… don't jack up your shoulder any more than it already is, Kevin. Okay?"

"I won't… I promise."

"Good." His dad said. "And Eddward, again, thank you — for today _and_ yesterday."

"O-oh! It was not a big effort on my part, Mister Barr. Truly." He tried his hardest to make the smile that he put on his face, to come across as the unchallenged truth. In his mind, however, he began to reprimand himself for his response. That did not sound calm and collected and _cool_ , like he had told himself to be. He supposed it would have been if he had not stuttered at the beginning, but he did; now the nervousness he _knew_ Kevin would be able to pick up on (because he was _Kevin_ ), was a dead giveaway and would make this car ride far more awkward than it needed to be — or already was.

"Still. You're a good boy, Eddward. Drive safe."

"Thank you, Mister Barr. I shall." With that said, Mr. Barr closed the door of the car and stood at that spot while he watched Eddward drive out of the cul-de-sac; he had been waving, too, until he could no longer see them, and decided that it was time for him to go back into his house.

In the car, Eddward and Kevin were very silent.

Eddward clenched the steering wheel tight — tighter than he had yesterday or a few minutes ago — and put far more effort than he needed to, into keeping his eyes on the road. Next to him, Kevin sat staring out the window — in a similar position as he had been in yesterday. However, it felt to Eddward that Kevin was looking at him through his reflection in the window, making him incredibly nervous. He held back the urge to frown — snarl — at this.

After about two minutes of driving, Kevin said, "My dad said you had to pick someone else up?"

"Yeah…" He did not bother looking from the road, at Kevin, to address him. "I have been commissioned to drive Marie and her sisters to school."

"Ah. Okay." (He was secretly relieved when Kevin stopped talking, and hoped that the red-haired young man would not bother to open his mouth again for the rest of the ride.)

After some more time passed, he drove into the trailer park that housed the Kankers. He was glad to have reached the first of their two destinations; especially since at said destination, more people would begin to occupy his car, and he would not be alone with Kevin. He would instead focus on Marie and May and Lee, whom he knew he could have a pleasant car ride with.

"Excuse me for a moment…" He said as he grabbed his bubble umbrella and began to exit the car. He closed the door behind him and went over to knock on the Kankers' door. After a few seconds, the wood door was opened by May.

"Edd!" She said, sounding very much surprised to see him — because she was. He could see it in that she, out of all of them, still was not dressed. She wore her pajamas (a nightgown), and still had her hair coiled and braided up in the bun she always slept in, a facemask ever present on her face. "I'm so sorry — we're not ready yet! The storm last night knocked off our lights and the alarm clock wasn't working." A sound of frustration came from within her throat that sounded almost like an asthmatic elephant trying to breathe; he remembered her making that sound several times throughout their childhood when she was feeling particularly overwhelmed by emotions. "Can you give us… ten—"

"— _Twenty_!" Came a shout from behind her, further into the trailer. It was done with a mixture of Lee and Marie's voices.

"—Twenty minutes more to get ready?" She asked him, shyly and worried.

Before he responded, Eddward glanced at his digital wristwatch. It was to keep his face busy for a few moments as he tried not to frown at the fact that he would now have to spend twenty minutes more, alone with Kevin. Absentmindedly, he noted the watch read twenty-six minutes to 8am.

"That is… quite alright with me," he said. "Please, take the twenty minutes. However—"

"Great! Thanks, Edd! We'll be out as soon as we can — promise!" May exclaimed, just before shutting the door in his face and going off elsewhere into the trailer. He stood there for a few seconds to let the frown he had been holding back, show; he had been about to ask May to hurry, though, since twenty minutes with Kevin sounded like twenty-times-too-much.

He sighed.

He turned and headed back into his car, where he once again settled himself in the driver's seat with the bubble umbrella behind him. This time when Kevin spoke to ask, "What happened? Where are the girls?" he did not hold back his distaste at hearing his voice.

" _Not here_." He said with a snarl on the side of his face that Kevin could see. "Obviously. Please do refrain from asking such ridiculously unintelligent questions."

"Wh—" Kevin was momentarily stunned by the harsh tone that Eddward used to address him. Momentarily. For he soon recovered his senses and determined that he neither liked nor deserved Eddward's tone of voice. A frown was quickly present on his face. "The hell, man? It was just a question. I don't see why you gotta be a complete _dick_ about it."

"Hmph. Of course someone with such little comprehension for the things outside of their personal world view, like _you_ , would be unable to see the cause for my displeasure." Eddward said. "Oh! Also, since I know it is quite difficult for that unused muscle in your head you call your brain to see, allow me to drop a hint: it has nothing to do with the question, per se."

Kevin's frown was accompanied by an eye-roll. An eye-roll Eddward's eyes were riled-up by.

"Are you gonna bitch about the kiss, _again_?"

" _Again_?" Eddward picked-up. "No. Allow me to correct you, _Kevin_." He spat his name in the same way Draco Malfoy, admittedly from one of his favorite fantasy series, said "mudbloods". "What _again_ has happened is not my behavior over the kiss, but your initiation of it. _Again_ you have invaded my personal space and taken something from me that I am not willing to give. _Again_ you have assaulted me. Also, _again_ you have chosen to be a complete and utter charlatan when it comes to why I could _possibly be_ _upset_ over these things. I suppose in your world everyone is just ready and willing to give you what you please, no? No one is ever allowed to dislike what the great Kevin Barr gives them, for the great Kevin Barr never does anything wrong. Hm?"

" _Goddammit_ , _Edd_!" Kevin screamed, his face turning red. " _Shut up_! I know you're upset over the kiss, okay? I wanted to say sorry immediately but you _walked away_!"

"I do not believe in giving second chances on matters like those." Eddward said. " _Especially_ not after you saw how much it hurt me the last time you did it. Remember? You seemed to think then, too, that I would appreciative to have your lips on mine — _you did not once think_ —!"

" _I apologized to you like a hundred times_!" Kevin yelled, effectively cutting Eddward off and making him even more frustrated. " _Remember_?" He said, mocking him. "I called you like every day and left like a hundred voicemails saying I'm sorry. I tried to talk to you at school and you avoided me like the damn plague. You literally ran away every time you saw me, and people thought that it was because I was bullying you or some shit like we were back in elementary school or junior high. Do you know the hell I had to go through because of all of that? _Shit_! Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and I _stopped_. So shut up. Don't act like I didn't know you were pissed off because of it, and that I didn't care about how you felt."

"Then tell me _this_ ," he paused to turn his body fully in the direction of Kevin. For these next parts, he felt, he would want his whole person put into what he was going to say. "If you _knew_ how much I was… infuriated and disgusted and _hurt_ by what you did last time, why would you ever do it _again_?" His voice was low and deep, menacing, even, with a compliment from his glaring blue eyes, and the last few words were pushed through his teeth. He was seething. Kevin had never quite seen him like that, ever.

He was very much caught off-guard by what Eddward had said, and how he was saying it. He sat in the seat with his lips shut and his face in a neutral, yet disbelieving and with a contemplative expression, as he stared at Eddward.

When he did not respond quickly like Eddward had needed, he was egged on by, " _Well_?"

He only finally responded when it looked like Eddward was going to go into another rant that would no doubt go for the jugular this time; and that was not something that he needed at this moment. "I… I was an idiot, okay. I wasn't thinking."

Eddward snorted and rolled his eyes, this time. "This _again_?" He said with a half-bored, half-angry expression and tone.

"No. Yes. Look, Edd—"

"I am not going to let you continue, Kevin. When you use that expression, is it because you, yourself, have yet to discover the reason why you have done what you did. Alas, I am not willing to listen to that meager jabbering on, either. I need a concrete and clear reason — not bad inferences from even _worse_ critical thinking." He said, using a dismissive tone.

He then turned his body away from Kevin. He no longer wanted to engage in conversation with the young man — the ignorant fool — next to him. He instead wanted to leave the conversation at that, with him having the last word, and wait in total silence for the Kanker sisters to finish getting prepared for school, and come into the car. He glanced at the digital clock in his vehicle and saw that it had only been five minutes since he was told they needed twenty. He frowned. Fifteen more minutes of him trying to pretend like Kevin was not sitting in the car next to him, until he could actually forget about that when the Kankers filled in the remainder of the space inside of his car.

However, as he soon saw, Kevin would not have any of that.

"Listen, _dork—_ "

He sighed. "Back to the petty childhood mocking-names, Kevin? Quite honestly, is your state of mind still that of when you were in primary schooling?"

"No— would you… would you _just shut up already_!?"

"Screaming does not make anything that will come out of your mouth from here on out, any more intelligent or truthful. I know that is commonly what your kind believes, but let me tell you—"

" _I like you_ , _idiot_!"

His eyes went wide and his head snapped to turn to Kevin's direction. With his mouth slightly agape, he looked at a red-faced, freckled-faced Kevin with more horror than disbelief. He never bothered entertaining notions that maybe he had not heard him right, for he knew that unless external conditions that he could not control kept him from doing so, he would _always_ here what people said the first time they said it. He had heard Kevin right, he knew he did, he could _see_ it on Kevin's face that he did, but that did not mean that he did not feel gut-wrenching terror at it.

So much so, that he refused to ask Kevin to repeat himself as an excuse to gather all the thoughts now jumbling in his head, and instead said, "No."

"What?" Kevin asked.

"No." He repeated. "No. No, no, no, no, _no_!" He shook his head, ignoring the way in which Kevin stared at him with confusion, and his own pain now leaking into his expression.

"Edd—"

"No. Do not speak. I do not wish to hear you say those awful words again." Eddward said, stunning Kevin even further. "Which, might I add, in no way excuses you from what you have done to me twice, already. _Liking_ someone," he forced himself to say, "Does not give you the _right_ to do to them what you please." Once again, he said this through clenched teeth and a tight jaw; and after he had said it, his head turned away from Kevin in a final, definitive action that they were _done_ speaking about this.

He was certain Kevin had caught-on, for the young man did not open his mouth again.

Around fifteen minutes later, the Kanker girls came out of their home. They ran to his car without umbrellas, and only one of them, Marie, paused in the rain when she went to open the passenger side door next to Eddward and noticed that someone else was already in her seat.

" _Kevin_!" She exclaimed. "What the hell? Edd!" She looked up a bit to meet the eyes of her friend. "What. The. Hell?"

"I was asked by Mister Barr to chauffeur the younger Barr to school today." Eddward responded; he refused to say Kevin's name. "I apologize that he is occupying your seat, Marie."

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about that." Marie said, her face turning angry and eyes glaring. "I'm more pissed that he's even _here_. Why didn't you turn him down, Edd? This is… _Kevin_ , after all. He—"

"Shut the _fuck_ up, already!" Kevin screamed. "I don't need you two talking about me like I'm not fucking here. Here, take your damn seat." He pushed Marie aside with his body as he grabbed his backpack with his good arm and exited the car. Eddward could clearly see that he was taking his frustrations out on Marie, and was ready to confront Kevin about it — if Lee had not gotten to him, first, after seeing the way he shoved her sister.

"Hey! Don't go pushin' around my sister like that!" She screamed as she moved her body forward from behind the back seat, and seemed ready to jump out and grab Kevin.

Kevin looked down at the red-haired Kanker, uncaring, and snorted. "Whatever."

Lee was forcing her body through the gap between to the two front seats, her butt in Eddward's face, trying to grasp at Kevin, now. However, May grabbed onto her sister's waist and was pulling her to the back, while Eddward grasped her shoulders and tried to get her back there, as well.

"Lee!" He exclaimed. "Please do calm down. Violence is not the answer in this — I shall handle it!"

"Let go a' me, Edd! I'm gonna pound his face in for that!"

Marie was the one to put a stop to the situation by getting into the car and slamming the door shut. She locked the doors. With Kevin effectively barricaded from the group, Lee seemed ready to calm down and stopped trying to get to the front seats. She sat back down and was dealt with by both her sisters, while Eddward took the time to exit the car, without his umbrella, and approached Kevin on the matter. The red-haired young man stood outside of the passenger-side door, with the arm not in the sling across his chest under the one with the sling, to make a show of having his arms crossed. He seemed to be pouting.

"That was highly inappropriate." Eddward said as he approached him. Kevin did not respond, and while that infuriated Eddward, he stayed on topic and kept talking out of necessity; because even if Kevin would not listen, he would still talk so that way, if anything were to happen later, he could honestly say that he tried. "You have effectively made quite a mess of the situation and now I doubt that Lee will let you back into the car without it coming to fisticuffs, first."

"Like I care." Kevin said. "I didn't want to ride with you anyways. It was my dad's dumb idea and the only reason I agreed was because Nazz wasn't at her house today."

"All the more reason for you to have been _civil_ and not create this… hullaballoo."

Kevin snorted, once again. While he had tried to keep it low enough under his breath so that they could not be heard over the rain, Eddward still managed to pick-up, "This is your fault to begin with…"

" _What_?!" This time Eddward did ask Kevin to reiterate on his words, out of anger. This time, he truly could not believe that Kevin had just said such a thing to him. "Are you more of a fool than I had originally thought you to be? How on Earth is any of this _my fault_?"

"Because if you hadn't been such a total asshole about what I said earlier, I wouldn't have done that shit to Marie. I don't have any problems with Marie, but I do with how you treated me a few minutes ago."

"Oh _come on_ , Kevin!" Eddward exclaimed. By this point, his hat and jacket were thoroughly soaked by the rain, but he thought nothing of it. He was too blinded by his fury over the nonsense he was hearing. "That is just an _excuse_. If you had any type of common sense or self-control over your own actions, you would not have done that, _period_. Blaming others does _nothing_. Good lord, man! Accept that you did something wrong and go apologize to Marie so we can get out of this godforsaken rain and be well on our way to the school." As he turned around, under his breath he muttered, "Foolish imbecile."

However, he did not manage to make his way to the driver's side of his car. When he was walking near the hood, Kevin had effectively twisted his body and used both of his arms to slam him against it. Inside the car, the Kanker girls were shocked by the sound Eddward's body made against the hood, and soon spilled out of the car to go intervene. Outside, Eddward could see a mixture of pain on Kevin's face; made from using his messed up shoulder so forcefully, and from something that Eddward could not easily determine. Glaring green-hazel eyes and showing, clenched teeth, stared down at him.

Kevin looked ready to say something, but could not, as Lee effectively grasped him from behind and, using the wrestling skills that she had picked-up from Marie, who excelled at wresting and had been the only female on the school's wrestling team back in freshman and sophomore year, had Kevin slammed on the muddy floor within seconds.

"First my sister and now my friend?!" She screamed. While May went over to make sure that Lee did not hurt Kevin needlessly, Marie was at Eddward's side.

"Edd, are you okay?" Marie asked him. Her eyes looked him over, searching for signs of an injury. When she could not find one, she gave a sigh of relief, and went to grab onto his bicep and help him up. When he sat upright against the hood of the car, she released him; however, with a look of worry still present on her face.

"I am quite fine, Marie, thank you." Edd finally said. He told Marie only half the truth. While there was no serious physical damage, his head was throbbing a bit from being slammed down so hardly. He was grateful for his hat, though, as that helped to cushion what surely would have been a much more jarring blow without it.

He looked over at Kevin, then. Lee still had him face-first into the mud-turned floor, her body on top of his to make sure that he would not dare to move, and May was beside her sister trying to talk her on getting off of Kevin.

Lee would not budge.

Eddward, because it was the right thing to do, went over to Lee and Kevin, and asked Lee to get off of him. When she would not, he argued that Kevin had already learned his lesson and would not be able to do anything more — especially not since his shoulder was injured, and probably more so after using it to assault him. When she heard this, Lee, reluctantly, released Kevin from her grip and stood. As her clothes had gotten dirty from being on the wet ground, May quickly took her into the trailer to change before they went to school. Marie wanted to stay outside with Eddward, for she was weary about what Kevin might do next, but he asked her to go in as well and help Lee. Marie did not want to, but did because it was something Eddward asked of her.

When the sisters were gone, Eddward turned his attention to Kevin. He crouched down just enough to get closer to Kevin's level, but without touching the filthy, filthy muddy floor.

"You can get up now. They have left. Come, rise. Any longer on that ground and your father will—"

"Oh shove it." Kevin said. His voice was low, but hurt. He slowly got up; the entire front-half of his body was covered head-to-toe in mud — adding insult to injury of his pained shoulder. He would not look at Eddward.

"Hmph." Eddward said. He rose to his full height and put his hands on his hips. He contemplated what to do next. He surely could not have Kevin going to school dripping in mud, but at the same time, he was not sure he could keep his promise with Mr. Barr, any more. Kevin had not only been very rude to his friend, but also assaulted him. He believed that to be grounds for a contract cancellation. As for how Kevin would get around to his next destination? whether it be school or his home? Eddward was happy to give him money for the next bus. He was ready to reiterate this to Kevin when he noticed something he quite had not seen before.

Kevin was _crying_.

At first Eddward had thought that it was the rain, but as he looked more closely at it, he could see that it was tears; his eye ducts were spewing water.

He immediately felt some disconcerting remorse.

"Kevin—"

"No! Leave me alone, you ass!" Kevin screamed, smacking away the hand that reached out for him with his pained shoulder. (Although Eddward was quite certain that his shoulder made up less than half of the pain that Kevin might currently be feeling.) "Fuck this! I'm out — I'm going home!" He stomped his way over to the side of Eddward's car, where he had dropped his backpack right before he had rushed Eddward. His face was red with anger and embarrassment and regret, and he munched on his bottom lip as he tried to harden himself and stop the tears that were coming down his face.

When he was reaching for his backpack, Eddward grabbed it instead. Kevin rolled his eyes and looked-up at him. Eddward had a strap in each hand and a look on his face that told him that he was wondering what to say next. His previous demeanor had faltered. However, Kevin would not let him say a thing.

"Give me my backpack." He demanded. "I'm catching the next bus and going home. My wallet and shit is in there."

"Perhaps… you would prefer that I take you home right now? I can tell Marie—"

"Oh. _Now_ you're suddenly feeling sympathetic?" Kevin said with a biting voice. "Is that something the _great Eddward Vincent_ does? Sympathize with the… commoners only when they're finally crying? No. Fuck that. I don't want anything to do with you right now. Just… just give me back my stuff so I can leave…"

He would admit that in that moment, he had returned Kevin's backpack because the young man's comment sunk into him and was more alarming than he would care to admit. When his personal item had been returned to him, Kevin put it on his good shoulder and gave one more glance at Eddward before starting his walk out of the trailer park. Eddward, who had been staring, could see that one moment, Kevin's good arm came up to wipe the tears off of his face. He could not help himself as he felt that incredibly dumb of Kevin, since that would surely only get more mud on his face.

A few minutes later, when he could no longer see Kevin, the Kankers came back out of their home, and he settled his mind on having as normal a day at school, as possible.

* * *

*puts away hot chocolate* Nothing warms my soul like stirring up drama — in stories. In real life, I avoid drama like Eddward and Kevin about to avoid each other. :3 But first—!

Next Chapter: This moment seems like it needs more context. Onward to Eddward's side of the story.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	6. 6 out of 46

A bit of context for this chapter... which is odd since this _is_ a context chapter meant to better explain how and why people reacted the way they did in the previous chapter — context for the context. This baby is another summary chapter, and in fact, starts to take place the night of the events told in chapter 4/46 — so literally, it's Eddward's point-of-view from the moment after he slammed the door in Kevin's face. Unfortunately, unlike Kevin's, this has a lot more paraphrasing than I wanted... I'll probably end up rewriting it after some time. Oh well.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of the plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _6/46_

* * *

About three years ago, after Edd had been kissed by Kevin, he found himself a mess of tears and anger and fright on the couch in his living room. He was shaking, and grasped tightly onto his shoulders as he tried to gain some control of himself. He tried to stop the shaking and the tears — telling himself that it was not as big of a deal as he was making it out to be.

However, it _was_.

In time he found himself up the stairs to his bathroom. He brushed his teeth and practically drowned himself in mouthwash as he tried to get rid of any signs of the… kiss. When he thought about it, he had to keep himself from vomiting. He was absolutely sick to his stomach.

He bathed, because he felt that an hour or two in a warm shower would help to get his mind off the situation. The action backfired on him, for all showering did was give him more solitary time to think about what had happened. He had never hated showering so much, as he did on that day. He turned off the water and ignored all of his usual showering procedures of putting on his slippers and drying himself as much as he could in his bathroom, before running into his bedroom.

A naked, wet, mess, he fell to his bed and cried. He cried and cried. His heart ached. His body shook from more than just being cold. He sniffled and snot came from his nose, and he wiped at it and his tears but they would not stop coming.

Finally, at around 12am, when he woke-up from an impromptu nap that had come during his hour of distress, he fixed himself and jumped in his skin when he heard the house phone ring. He quickly dressed himself in a pair of underwear and his favorite footsie pajamas, and headed down — he hoped he was not too late to get the call, just in case that it was his parents.

When he reached the receiver, he saw _Barr_ on the caller ID and almost gagged.

.

.

The following day, he had made it a point to go seek some help. He woke-up at five in the morning and quickly bathed (even though he was certain he did not have to, for he had bathed yesterday night and not much had happened since then), and dressed himself. He avoided putting on his beanie that day, out of fear that it would be _recognized_.

Leaving his house, he first peeked his head out of the door. He looked left and right to make sure that the street was clear, and in a pair of baggy clothes to disguise his physical form even more, he quickly stepped out, locked the door, and ran out of the cul-de-sac as quickly as he could. He would not, could not, feel safe until he was as far away from his neighborhood as possible, and onto the ever-changing path through the park woods that he used to get to the house of his dear friend, Marie Kanker.

When he was there, it was only around seven in the morning, and despite knowing that Marie and her sisters were likely asleep since it was the summer, and a Sunday, and none of them had work on that day, he knocked, hopeful.

No one ever came to the door. Yet, he was not yet ready to go back to his home. He could not leave, he felt, until he spoke to Marie.

So he waited at the side of the Kankers' door for the next couple of hours. The sun was hot against him in his baggy clothes, but he made sure to ignore it. As the other residents of the trailer park awoke and noticed him, he greeted them as best as he could in his awkward position, and then explained to them what he was doing there so early. They nodded, and then went on their way. It was not until around high noon when the door to the Kankers' trailer was finally opened from the inside, and Marie came out with a trash bag in her hand; in one of the shirts that he noticed was his and had gone missing from his house some time ago, and a pair of short-shorts.

It did not take long for Marie to spot him. _"Edd?!"_ She asked. She moved aside her long blue hair — (for she would not yet cut it to create her fauxhawk for a couple more months) — so that she could take a better look at the hatless, baggy-clothed person next to the door of her home. It did not look like Edd.

" _Greetings and salutations, Marie. How are you this fine morning_?" However, it certainly _sounded_ like Edd.

" _I'm… doing fine."_ Marie said as she approached him. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked Edd up and down. He could not help the way he tensed up against the intense gaze. _"How are you?"_

" _I…"_ The cheery voice and expression he had used a moment ago to greet her, melted away. His face saddened, and he looked away. Marie knew immediately that something was wrong.

" _Come inside. I'll make you some of that tea you always like."_

Edd nodded and excused himself as he stepped into the Kanker Residence. As it was a habit of his when he stepped into the home of another, conditioned from a habit of when he stepped into his own household, he stopped at the front door and took off his shoes. He continued following Marie to the kitchen, then, with just his socks on his feet.

He took a seat at what was now often deemed "his" seat at the four-person table they had in their kitchen, and waited quietly, with nervous, fidgeting fingers, while Marie set up a pot of water to brew his favorite tea. Admittedly, it was a recipe Marie had showed him, which she said she got from her mother.

After some time, the tea was brewed and Marie was setting up two cups of it. _"Lee and May are still asleep."_ She said as she took the cups to the table, where Edd accepted it graciously _. "So we'll be fine to talk until around… 3 or 4. It was a late night last night."_

" _That is good to hear."_ Edd said. He sipped the tea and immediately felt a wave of calmness and euphoria go over him. He was thankful, yet again, for having Marie and her masterful brewing skills at his side.

They took some time to sip and drink, and only began talking when they were each halfway done with their cups of tea.

" _So… what happened?"_ Marie asked.

Edd took a moment to respond. He looked into the cup of tea, at his murky reflection, and chewed on his bottom lip. He was unsure how to start. However, Marie, ever wise in reading him, seemed to hit the nail on the head without even knowing — or perhaps she _did_ know and that was why she said it in the first place — when she said, _"Is it Kevin? Did something happen? Ah! Don't tell me he didn't pass summer school. That ended yesterday, right? May went to get her report card, now that I remember…"_ She took a sip of tea at the end.

" _Y-yes…"_ Edd said, now visibly shaking but trying very hard to keep calm. Some of the tea from the cup spilled onto his hand and he set it down, before grabbing the napkin that Marie offered him, and using it to clean the dot of tea. _"A correction to what you said, I have. He did not… fail summer school. I-instead… h-huh-he…"_

Marie raised a blue eyebrow at him (because she saw not dying your eyebrows when you do your hair, as being tacky). _"Edd?"_ She asked, softly, with worry lacing her voice like frosting that made it harder for Edd to stomach; because now he was causing his good friend concern, and he did not want that.

When Marie saw the first tear drop from Edd's eyes, inwardly, she panicked. She immediately sought to go to him and hold him against her chest and comfort him, but held back, because she knew that that would be too much — as Edd had told her so before, several times, when she had done the very same thing — an over-affectionate mess — and instead settled for putting her hand over Edd's and squeezing it as a sign of support.

Edd wrapped his fingers around Marie's hand (a hand, which he noticed, was starting to feel smaller and daintier in his own), and squeezed it more. He knew that for the rest of their conversation, he would not let go of that hand, and instead would constantly go back to it for the power to continue.

" _He…"_ He started again. _"He… k-kuh-kissed me…"_ He ended.

Marie's black eyes went wide. They were black for two reasons; primarily because black was her natural eye color, and secondarily due to the running black mascara that she had yet to clean off of her face from the night before.

Inside, she could feel something sink into her stomach like a rock.

She wanted to yell _'He_ _WHAT_ _?'_ but restrained herself because her two sisters were still asleep, and she did not want to wake them. She instead gritted her teeth and took a sip of tea to calm herself down. When the cup was back down on the table, she took a deep breath and focused on the matter at hand. Her friend, Edd, was hurt, and now was not the time to let her demeanor crack and show a fit of rage and jealousy at him having been kissed by… _Kevin_. Rage, yes, but jealousy, no. She took another breath.

" _Why—"_

" _Oh Marie it was awful!"_ Edd exclaimed, as high as he could without being loud enough to wake the other two Kankers or draw attention to the residence. _"He came over to tell me he passed and I was so happy for him that I cried because I really did want him to pass and did want the best for him but every time I calculated how he was doing and what he needed I did not see him passing and that scared me but then he did pass and I was crying tears of joy and then he…"_ Edd was hyperventilating; he had said all of that in one breath. He stopped only because he could go no longer. _"He… huh-he…"_ His voice fell away.

Marie could feel herself burning with anger.

She decided in that moment that she did not like Kevin Barr one bit. She had held herself back from disliking him in the past, for they had both brought the poor Edd to tears at some point while they terrorized him; and she had not seen any reason to dislike him in their current time, for he seemed grateful to have Edd's help and Edd had not reported anything particularly alarming to her — but now? _Now_ she could hate him for kissing Edd and causing him to be so distraught. Now she would hate him — now she _did_ hate him.

" _Edd, please, calm down."_ Marie's other hand was over Edd's in a matter of seconds when she noticed his shaking having gotten worse, and the tears now starting to flow from his eyes like a levy had broken. She stroked his hand and her voice was kind and soft as she sought to end all the tears by comforting his current, hurt self. _"Edd, listen to me, I know you… I know how you are, and I know that having that done to you must be… just the_ _worst_ _, but you need to calm down. You need to breathe. You need to start—"_

" _I do not understand!"_ Edd exclaimed. _"Why would he do that, Marie? I tried to answer that question for myself so many times last night, and got nothing._ _Nothing_ _. It is sickening. Disgusting._ _Filthy, filthy_ _. I… I wish…"_ His free hand went over his face — for his other would yet to release Marie's — and he covered it. He tried to swallow his sobs as he said, _"I-I k-k-know I shuh-should be l-less fuh-frustrated by i-it b-b-b-but… I_ _cannot_ _."_

" _I know, I know."_ Marie said soothingly; the stroke of her hands matching her voice. _"I know, Edd. I understand. But you shouldn't be less frustrated. This is fine. No. You should be_ _more_ _frustrated."_

Edd choked on a sob and then started a coughing fit. Marie was up on her feet to go pat his back, but Edd stopped her with his hand. He then used the same hand to grab at the cup of tea and drink what was left in it, before holding it up and saying, _"M-m… more, p-please…"_

" _Right away."_ Without releasing Edd's hand, Marie went over to where the tea pot stood on the stove, and grabbed it then poured more tea into Edd's cup. She poured some into hers, as well, which too had gone empty when she dumped it down her throat earlier. She put the pot back on the stove and then reclaimed a new seat; this one was at Edd's side instead of being across from him, and she moved her cup in front of herself.

They sat and drank until their cups were half-empty, once more.

Marie was the first to break the silence with a sigh.

" _What are you going to do?"_ She asked Edd. _"Because if it were me, I'd_ _pound his face in_ _."_

Normally Edd would give a light laugh at Marie's expressions of violence, which he could never tell whether she was joking or serious about, but today was not one of those day. Not even a twitch of his lips — the hint of a small smile — did Marie get in return for her statement.

" _But, seriously though, Edd, what're you gonna do about this? Are you gonna… talk to him or something?"_

" _No!"_ Edd said immediately. His body froze up and Marie jumped up slightly at how loud he had suddenly gotten. Edd noticed and then immediately said, _"S-sorry."_ A light shade of embarrassment on his face.

" _It's fine."_ Marie said. _"Go on. Why won't you talk to him?"_

" _H-how could I?"_ Edd had seemed to regain his composure because he was shaking less and creating little circles on the back of Marie's hand, which still held his other in its grasp; something he only ever did when he was calm or trying to get calm. _"He— Marie, I—"_ He was calmer, yes, but still very much unable to find the right words to express his thoughts. He took his time, Marie making it okay, before he finally sighed and had arranged his thoughts coherently enough. _"I feel assaulted on such a personal level by what he did, even though in my heart I_ _know_ _that, truly, it is not as bad as it seems. However, I— to me… To me… it is_ _awful_ _. I feel so… invaded."_ He sighed.

Marie brought her free hand up to stroke his hair; she was the only person besides Edd allowed to touch his hair, because it was she that helped him to become comfortable without his hat on at all times. He found that he very much enjoyed the way Marie would touch his hair, and rested his head against the table to make it easier for her to play with the inky, shoulder-length locks. Marie smiled.

" _Oh Edd, I get it. I understand."_ She said to him, almost like music to his ears to hear such words. _"It's fine how you're feeling — rightfully so, too. What Kevin did was uncalled for and unnecessary. The jerk. He should've thought more about your feelings or… at least_ _asked_ _."_ Edd was finally smiling, and it was growing wider with each word that Marie said. _"You don't have to talk to him. You don't have to do_ _anything_ _. He, however, should be groveling at your feet with apologies. And if he isn't, then he's an ungrateful son of a—"_ She paused, knowing how much Edd disliked cursing and hearing others, especially her, do as such. _"Point is: You don't have to deal with him anymore. You did your job. He passed summer school. Now you can go your separate ways and cut him off. And if he_ _ever_ _comes around to mess with you again…"_ She paused to lean in and whisper into Edd's ear, _"Tell me. And I'll handle him very_ _nicely_ _."_

This time, Edd did manage a laugh.

.

.

The following days, he found himself spending more than his usual allotted time, at the Kanker Residence. Kevin, he had noticed, was consistently calling his house — and when he was not calling, he was knocking on his door at random hours in the night. About three days passed of this harassment before he gave up, and asked Marie if he could go to sleep at her house, instead. Marie did not even need an explanation from him before she accepted.

She went over to his home at 3am to help him get his things ready to head to her house. He had, admittedly, reprimanded her for traversing through the streets at the wee hours of the night, alone, but Marie brushed his worries away saying that if she had come across anyone troublesome, she would have handled it, herself. (In the back of his mind, he knew she was right. Marie had already displayed her physical prowess several times in the past, and current present, from being the only female "good enough" to make it onto the boys' wrestling team, and top their records one after another. He knew that if Marie had come across any hooligans on her way to his house, the ones to be fearful surely would have been the people whom she would have encountered.)

Marie was diligent in packing for him; he was quite frazzled by the events and still shaking with his mind not quite right, but Marie — _Marie_ — was calm and collected and packed things for him that he had not even thought of; things he surely would have missed at one point when he was feeling better.

" _I think that's all of it, Edd."_ She said to him when she finished getting his favorite, unfinished book from the shelf in his room — a book he constantly meant to go back to but never remembered to do so until it was too late — into the large duffle bag that she had brought from her home, because she knew that he did not have anything of the sort in his. _"Ah!"_ She paused as she made her way over to his nightstand and grabbed the cactus plant labeled "Jim" that loyally rested there. _"_ _Now_ _that's all of it."_

" _Oh thank you very much for this, Marie."_ He said as he began to close-up the duffle bag. _"I quite honestly do not know how best to express my thanks in regards to you for being so…"_ He could not quite find the words — but how was he supposed to get across how ecstatically grateful he was for having Marie Kanker as both a friend and a confidant?

" _It's nothing, Edd."_ Marie said. She handed him Jim and then slung the duffle bag over her back, with ease. _"Now come on. It's only, like, 4. We can get there by 4:30 if we walk fast enough. And I can make you some more tea if you want, too. We can stay up_ _all_ _night just bingeing on Netflix — ah! We finally got Hulu, too! So there's more to watch, now."_

Edd smiled and exited his home with Marie. He locked the front door and, hand-in-hand with her, chatted his nerves away as they walked out of the cul-de-sac and through the park and woods and over the bridge, and finally arrived at the front door of the Kanker Residence. Marie pulled out her key from inside of her bra (he blushed and looked away when he saw her nonchalantly pulling at the hem of her shirt and exposing more of her breasts than he was ever comfortable seeing), and then unlocked the screen door and the front, wood door. They then stepped in, him leaving his shoes at the mat out of habit.

" _Obviously, while you're here, you're gonna have to sleep on the couch, Edd."_ She said. _"I mean, I personally wouldn't mind if you slept in our room, but I doubt Lee would be okay with having a boy there. Our room is like… sacred Kanker sister territory, you know."_

" _I understand — I expected as such. To be honest, I never wish to invade your personal sanctums. In fact… a-are you certain that this is… okay, Marie? Am I not—"_

" _Stop right there, Edd."_ She said, putting her hand up against his chest. She had been walking to the living room and then swiftly turned around when she heard him begin spewing doubt. _"There is no way I was gonna turn down a cry for help. Not from you, of all people, either. I'm sure there'll be_ _some_ _nonsense from Lee, but even that'll only last like… an hour or two. Besides, you'll blend in in no time. I'm sure of it. It'll be good to finally have a man around the house, too."_ She winked at him and he could feel himself slowly getting better.

" _Thank you, Marie."_

She waved her hand as she resumed going into the living room. _"It's fine, it's fine. No need to thank me."_ She set the duffle bag beside the long couch and then situated herself on it. She wasted no time in turning on the Smart TV and setting up Hulu. _"We're paying extra for the commercial-free option, by the way. So nothing is gonna stop our bingeing."_

He smiled and joined her on the couch. He sat vertically in contrast to her horizontal body, and her legs rested above his thighs in their usual manner whenever they watched something together. They sat there going through shows for about a half-hour before settling on a random set of movies until it was time for Marie to get up and go to work — something she only remembered she had that day when the alarm of her phone began to ring.

" _Oh shit."_ She said. _"I forgot I switched my shifts since school is starting in a few weeks. Ugh. Great."_

" _Oh dear — and I kept you up all night…"_ He was clearly worried about how she would do on such little sleep being a waitress at Peach Creek's one and only "candy bar", which doubled as a candy store and a restaurant. He was more than ready to blame himself for anything that may go wrong for her that day.

She snorted. _"Don't worry, Edd. This isn't the first time I've gone all-in with little to no sleep. You should've_ _seen_ _my sleep schedule during finals last year — I got like three hours over the course of two days."_ Edd's eyes widened at her confession, and she laughed. Getting up from the couch, she stretched out like a cat and then released a breath. _"Brew me a pot of coffee though, will ya? That'll definitely help me some."_

He was more than happy to brew the coffee for her, while she got ready for work. Marie was a fast bather and dresser, and came down in her work uniform and blue hair tied back in a ponytail, just when he was pouring the coffee into a novelty mug that he remembered getting for her some time back. The mug had a little cat inside that "drowned" when you filled the cup, and then popped back up as you drank. Marie loved the cup because it was the type of cute/morbid aesthetic that she had lately been getting into. He handed her the coffee cup.

" _Thanks, Edd."_ She said as she took a sip. _"That means a lot to me — you have no idea."_

" _I also took the liberty of making some biscuits with jam."_ He said as he presented to her a plate of two biscuits with jam already slathered in between each one in that heavy way that she liked. _"I hope you do not mind that I used some of you pre-made dough."_

" _Not at_ _all_ _."_ Marie said, eyes shining. _"Ah! I already love having you here! May is usually never awake by the time I have to get ready for work, to make me breakfast. And obviously I can never do it, so…"_ She took a seat at the table in the kitchen, Edd across from her, and delved into the biscuits and coffee and came out of it happy and refreshed. She could not help herself as she gave Edd a hug and a kiss on the cheek, on her way out. _"Thanks again. I'll see you after work."_

" _Have a good day at work."_ He said, smiling. Marie nodded and then exited her home. Edd was washing the dishes from that morning's breakfast when, ten minutes later, he heard stomping coming from above him.

As he followed the sound, he was shocked to see Lee running into the kitchen with a metal baseball bat in her hands.

" _Who's there?!"_ She shouted, waving the bat around and more than ready to bash the face in of the person who dared to invade her home. She paused, however, when she noticed the frightened expression on Edd's face. _"Double-D?!"_

" _G-good morning, Lee."_ He said, trying to calm his heart from the fright the red-haired girl gave him. _"I see you are… energetic."_

Lee lowered the bat. _"What're ya doing here?"_ She asked. She then took a look around the kitchen, searching for something — someone. _"And where's Marie? She isn't here, is she? She has work today."_

" _Marie left but a few minutes ago, Lee."_

" _Ah. Okay… And what're_ _you_ _doing here?"_ She asked, again, getting closer to him. It was then that he noticed that Lee was not fully-covered and dressed in only a pair of short-shorts and a top that was almost see-through. She did not seem to mind, however, that he could see her hardened nipples through the thin material of her shirt. He, in contrast, _did_ , and turned his head away from her in respect, as he responded to her question.

" _I… D-due to an unfortunate… home situation, I have been given permission by Marie to temporarily take residency in your home for the next… three days, I believe."_

" _Oh really?"_ Lee asked. The bat was now over her shoulder and she slowly approached him. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat when he felt her body pressed up closely against his. Her face, also, was incredibly close. She was only a few inches shorter than him, after all; it did not take much on her part to reach his face.

" _Y-y…yes…"_ He said.

" _Hm… Okay then."_ She said, shocking him. She moved away and he turned his head to look at her with widened blue eyes. He wanted to ask, _'Excuse me?'_ and get some clarification on why she was taking this so easily, but he was unable to as she said, _"If you don't work, you don't stay. So you better pull your weight while you're here, Double-D."_ She then took a whiff of the kitchen. _"And make me some biscuits, too. I'm gonna go pee."_

" _R-right— right away."_ He said.

When it came to telling May about his stay there, he would like to add, things went much more smoothly. May took it instantly with nothing but happiness and excitement, for she, too, saw benefit in his being there and very much enjoyed his company. She had grasped his hands and started jumping up and down and only spoke about how with him there, she would have someone to help her cook and clean and do laundry and everything else — he noted how she treated it like he was a permanent resident over at the Kanker Residence, but felt that more of a compliment than an issue, and smiled.

.

.

His days at the Kankers' were never boring.

His mornings were spent waking up before them and starting on the breakfast. May was ecstatic to have someone else there that could take care of that, as that let her sleep-in, which made a significant difference in her days. In the afternoons, when all the Kankers were gone to work (he found that by 1pm each day, they would all have left for work except on Thursdays when May did not have work all day, and Sundays which they had each chosen to have as their day off so they could spend time with one another), he was doing laundry and mopping and cleaning as much of the inside and outside of the trailer as he could. He found he liked this alone time, and did not quite mind the "housewife" comments he got from Lee when she got home, earliest of them all, and came home to a clean house and dinner cooking, and slapped his butt (which he never has, and likely never will, get used to). The nights were the most fun, though. At night, they would sit around the couch and do marathons of their favorite shows or channel surf, while munching at unhealthy snacks. He found himself quite comfortable sitting between the three Kankers with Marie's legs over his lap, Lee's head on his shoulder, and May sitting on the floor, using his knees as a back-rest.

Needless to say, what had meant to be but a three-day absence from his household, turned into about a week-and-a-half. The Kanker girls had loved having him there and used their majority vote over him to convince him to stay for a while longer. He had been ready to make a case against it, again, when he went back to his house with Marie to go get clean clothing; but when he checked his answering machine and found it full of messages from Kevin, he settled that staying there longer was the better thing to do.

Looking back, he supposed it was those warm days at the Kanker Residence that likely led to his relationship with Marie deepening as much as it did.

While he stayed over at her home, they seemed to assimilate into "husband and wife" roles, naturally. There were more hugs and kisses on the cheek, and he soon found her wrapping her arms around his waist while he cooked, and what he could now deem as flirting from both sides, being more prominent between the two. With all of that, it was only natural that "it" happened, he supposed.

There came a day when they were both helping Lee with the project of restoring the T-bird she found in the Peach Creek junkyard some time ago. Lee was very close to finishing up the almost year-long project, and was aiming to do so before the end of the summer — which was just two weeks from that point. She had a goal of driving it to school on the first day. As thus, she had asked the three of them — him, May and Marie — to assist in the final, decorative details while she got down to the heavy stuff.

It was his and Marie's jobs to paint it pink.

" _I can't believe she chose pink, of all colors."_ Marie said; they were both currently sanding the car down and getting it ready to apply a base coat of white, before putting on the pink spray paint. _"She hasn't liked pink_ _ever_ _."_

" _Perhaps she has started to grow into it?"_ He asked. _"If I recall, Lee was also not the most feminine of you three, and has yet purchased more high-heeled shoes than all of those of you and May, combined."_

" _That's true…"_ Marie said. She was finishing sanding the hood of the car, which she and Edd double-teamed and used as their final, conjoined point. They had each tackled the car from the back, and then gone on to the opposite sides, only to meet up once again at the hood. _"But still. She's too influenced by that 'Grease' movie. We watched it like once when we were kids, and I swear she's built her whole persona around it."_

Edd laughed. They finished up sanding the car and then put the materials away as they went to deal with spray painting the base coat. As Lee wanted the job done as professionally as possible (but for as cheap as possible, too), she had asked her boss, Mo, from _Mo and Tasha's Garage_ , if she could borrow some of the equipment from the auto body shop to paint her car. Somehow he had said yes, and Edd and Marie now found themselves having a tough time trying to get the professional spray-painting machines to work.

" _I think it's clogged."_ Marie said. She was pressing hard on the trigger and nothing was coming out. She shook it over and over, her ear close like she was trying to listen in for the liquid, and frowned when she found nothing.

" _Perhaps it would be best if we identified the model of these machines and then did an internet search on how to properly use them?"_ Edd offered.

Marie nodded. She took out her cellphone, unlocked it, and then went to Google. She paused as she tried to find the model number or ID of the spray-painting machines. _"I can't find the model information_ _anywhere_ _."_ She said.

" _Here, let me try."_ Edd said, trying to approach her.

" _No, no, I got it."_

" _Marie, please, it would only take a moment."_

" _I said I got—"_ In her multitasking to keep Edd from taking the spray-painting gun from her hands, find the model number, and simultaneously search through Google, Marie had accidentally "unclogged" the gun, and managed to spray her chest white. She gasped as the cold paint hit her. _"Oh my god!"_ She screamed. Her phone fell to the floor as she went to use her hand to assess the damage; it came back as white as her green shirt now was. _"Goddammit!"_

At this, Edd found himself laughing. While he was not one for enjoying the accidental slip-ups of others, lately, he had been feeling much more comfortable around Marie, and able to do things he felt he otherwise would not have — such as laugh at her having sprayed herself with the gun.

When Marie heard the sound of Edd's laughter, she held back a smile as she instead tried to seem mad while saying, _"You think this is funny?"_

" _W-what? Me? N-no. Not at—"_ He was not able to finish his sentence as he continued to laugh. His sarcasm fell when his funny bone was truly, truly tickled. He had his hands over his mouth; half to hide his face and half to keep his giggles in, but it was useless. He was _clearly_ laughing and unable to control himself.

" _Oh is that right? Then I guess you won't mind if I do… this!"_ She turned the gun in his direction and hit the trigger. He froze, expecting to get blasted with cold paint, but got nothing, instead. Marie, once again, shook the gun in a fit of rage and anger and, _once again_ , ended up spraying herself. In the face, this time. Edd's laughter came higher and harder, and he could barely keep himself up straight as he clutched onto his stomach.

Marie threw the gun aside and tackled Edd. He fell back, a bit shocked. He was prepared to apologize for laughing at Marie, until he saw that she was rubbing her face and body up against him like a cat. He was confused as to why until he noticed the white stains on his shirt, and the paint disappearing from her face.

He laughed again.

" _Stop laughing you big idiot!"_ She exclaimed. _"This is very serious right now!"_

He wanted to responded, but could not. Marie's actions were simply too hysterical in his opinion, and he could not contain the laughter from rolling out of his mouth. He only came to a stop when he could take the pain of his stomach no more. He wiped at the tears that had come from his eyes and looked-up to see Marie, half-smirking, half-pouting down on him; there were still white spots on her face, but it was not fully covered like it had been, beforehand.

" _Jeez, Edd…"_ She said. _"You're such a… ugh."_

" _F-forgive me…"_ He said, still shaking with the remnants of his fit of laughter and giggles and chortles. _"I did not mean to… t-to put on such a disorderly display. I simply… you… your face…"_ He bit his lip to keep himself from biting.

" _Hey! What about my face? I think I look very cute!"_ Marie said; she took no hard feelings from what Edd said. She knew what he meant.

" _Indeed. Very cute. Quite."_ She blushed at Edd's words and turned her face away. She was brought back to face him, however, when one of his hands went up to her cheek. He scraped at the paint that was there, still smiling, and Marie gave, in return, a small, sad smile as she leaned into his hand. Why? Due to her knowing that she could not have what she truly wanted, and settling, instead. She knew how Edd was; how he felt about physical, romantic contact. Not to mention, she was also not keen on a full relationship, either. However, in that moment — in those past few days, really — she had begun to think, ' _Maybe… maybe it would not be so bad?'_

She did not know that Edd had begun to think the same, until she felt both of his hands on her face and he stared up at her with confusion, hesitancy, and a _want_ that she recognized because she had seen that look in her eyes before, several times, when she thought about him.

" _Edd?"_

" _I—"_ His voice caught in his throat. He was unsure what to say. He did not know what he was even doing. No. That was not entirely the truth. He _knew_ what he was doing — he just could not pinpoint a reason _why_. Yet he knew, and still did, that at that very moment, what he had wanted to do was kiss Marie Kanker — kiss the blue-haired, white-faced girl sitting on top of him, that had just given him one of the best laughing experiences that he had in his entire life.

Marie, as a surprise to him, smiled, and leaned her body in more. Their noses touched, her lips but an inch or so away from his.

" _If you're sure about this… I won't mind."_ She said.

He swallowed. He then leaned up, and captured her lips, in their first ever, mouth-to-mouth kiss (that he initiated).

.

.

After the kiss, he and Marie had finished the job of painting Lee's car pink (they finally learned to work the gun after finding the model number on the bottom of it), and then went inside, bathed (separately), and sat down on the couch for a heart-to-heart talk — no tea.

The center of the conversation was their relationship.

He admitted that in that moment, he could not quite understand where the desire to kiss her came from. Marie was okay with that; she knew that he probably would not be able to give an exact reason, after all, as she could read it in his eyes that he was confused and still sorting through his thoughts about the _why_. However, he told her, he would not deny in any way, that he had strongly wanted to kiss her — and that he did not regret it.

In fact, he _liked_ kissing her, he said, and wanted to do it _more_.

Marie was shocked. She had not expected that. She asked him to elaborate on "more", and he, blushing, said that he would like to kiss Marie once more. Maybe more than that. All he knew was that he felt… good kissing her — not scared, not violated, not _disgusted_ — and he wanted to know why and how and perhaps, _perhaps_ , if they kissed more often, he would be able to discover the reason.

Marie asked if he knew what kissing her more entailed.

 _A romantic relationship_ — she said.

He shocked her yet again by saying that, since it was with her, he, oddly, found that he did not mind being in that type of relationship.

.

.

They were not truly "dating", as one would call it. While it looked that way to everyone outside of their two-person relationship, to them, it was far more complicated than two teenagers with an affinity for one another, mating.

To him, he would admit, it was more of an exploration as to _why_ he did not mind being kissed or hugged or getting in some type of way romantically physical, with Marie. To Marie, it was helping to satisfy his curiosity while also hoping (secretly hoping) that he would discover that the difference was that he liked her, genuinely so, so that they could continue the relationship.

Yet, that did not mean that their relationship was lacking anything. He still enjoyed the kisses Marie would give him; the tighter hugs; the more intense cuddling that came when they settled themselves on the couch. He did not mind holding hands with her in public; going to her wrestling games when school started; nor often staying overnight at her house, on the weekends. Their relationship still consisted of truth and tea-talks and support — especially since the "Kevin situation" had yet to show any signs of letting up the first month of school — but the extra things that they were now doing, seemed to give it a different power over himself.

He remembered the first time he had gotten physically intimate with her. They had been on her couch, watching TV, when they erupted into a fit of giggles. At that time, their giggles always ended in them kissing if it was just the two of them — which it did. Yet that day their child-like kissing was suddenly deeper and more hands-on, and he found himself, not turned-on, but wanting to do a bit more.

He had told this to Marie, who, ever the good friend, asked him a bunch of questions to see what exactly it was that he wanted. They would not go into it blind and accidentally touch upon something that he was not ready to do. She did not think that what he wanted from her was the same thing she had started to want from him — and she had been right. He made it clear that while he did not feel comfortable just yet engaging in the act of penetrative sex, he did want to know what it felt like to have a closer type of intimacy with another.

He and Marie gave each other oral sex that night.

.

.

It was not long, really, before Marie found the relationship to be too much for her. Not because Edd was asking for a lot — he was really asking for nothing, in her opinion — but because he was not asking for the same things as _her_.

She liked the flow of the pseudo romantic relationship that she had with Edd. She really did. However, there was no denying that she wished that Edd was more comfortable doing all the things that she wanted to do. She wished that when they started to make-out on her couch, there would not be a moment of hesitancy in his eyes about what to do next. She wished that the relationship felt less like a demo for whatever future endeavors Edd may get himself into.

Most of all, she wished she was not taking advantage of the situation, to egg Edd into doing and giving her some of the smaller things that she wanted.

It made her feel like a bad person. _She_ : most likely the only person in the world, knew every detail about Edd's confusion regarding his sexual and romantic orientation. He said that he did not feel hetero in both senses, yet also was not sure _what_ he felt among the different labels. He was confused and scared — and she — _she_ — was taking advantage of it to have the type of relationship with Edd that she was still pining for since she was much younger.

It made her _sick_.

Each time they did something new that went out of the realm of hugs and kisses and cuddling, she hated how much she was happy. She hated how she felt excited not for Edd to get some clarity, but for her and her greedy desires. It made her stomach churn with guilt, and she was happy that she faked sleep when these things were done, because she simply could not look him in the eye directly after them.

She _especially_ could not handle how Edd kept calling her a good friend for helping him out. She could not handle how he gave her more kisses and more attention. She could fully, no longer handle it when Edd arrived at school one day with a bouquet of flowers for her — not out of love, she knew, but _gratitude_.

That had been the straw that broke the camel's back, and she, with a heavy heart, ended the relationship. Not just the romantic one, but the friendship as well.

She did not deserve to have Edd being nice to her, she felt.

.

.

When Marie ended their relationship, Edd was mortified. He immediately felt remorse and guilt and was shaking and sobbing and unable to control himself at the news. She had done it through a simple phone call when he was home — she called, told him it was over — _that everything was over_ — and then hung up. He had not even been able to process what had just gone on until he repeated her words over a hundred times in his head, until it _stuck_ and broke him down.

He did not remember putting the phone in the receiver or doing much else besides going down to his knees and starting to cry. His heart lamented everything that he had done which could have possibly gotten them to that point. He told himself it was because he had been so _selfish_ and not considered Marie's feelings at all. Looking back, Marie had always been the one giving in the relationship, and he taking — he never once asked her what she would like to do. He never once considered doing something for _her_ benefit.

He choked on sobs and tears and air and was really but a step away from throwing-up. His body was shaking, and he felt the burning need to go to Marie and ask her to reconsider and see if there was some way to salvage their _friendship_ — for that was what he cared about most — but he could not find the strength in himself to do so.

He laid on the floor in the fetal position and held his legs close to his body and cried on the white carpet. In truth, he wanted to go, but if it was Marie's wish to no longer speak to him — to no longer be friends…

He would respect that.

.

.

Life became hard without Marie.

There were several days when he felt much lonelier than he needed to be. Yes, he had Ed and Eddy and it was not as though he had abandoned their friendship with them in favor of Marie, but there was no denying that Marie had filled a spot in his life that was too hard to ignore — and impossible to replace.

He tried ignoring it by keeping himself busy. He focused on his studies and extracurricular activities; including the track team, which he had joined that year and knew he had to progress by leaps and bounds to keep up with everyone else. It was challenging on a different plane than the academics-based clubs he had joined the year prior, and he was thankful for that, because it did not come easy to him and he could drown himself in hours of stretching and getting into muscle training and seeing how far and fast he could run. The burn he felt the first few times he ran, almost tasting blood in the back of his throat, was horrifying; but in time, he began to feel that it was not so bad. He got used to it, and liked the bit of freedom that came with being able to _run_.

Yet this was not enough to replace Marie. Not when he had three classes with her. Not when he spotted her in the cafeteria. Not when he flinched at nearly every blue thing he saw because it could be her hair — _her_.

As his sophomore year of high school rounded up to a close, the spot in his heart that felt the presence of a Marie-shaped hole in the universe, dulled, until it was rekindled by the other two Kankers, Lee and May. He had had significantly less contact with Lee and May since his relationship fell-through with Marie. They were _her_ sisters first, after all, and his friends second, and he did not feel right going over to their home to help May with her studies or chat with Lee, if Marie wanted nothing to do with him.

The two Kanker sisters, however, were found to be distraught over his and Marie's not talking. They had been hoping that the two would kiss-and-make-up (not literally, of course) on their own, but now it had been _months_ since the two even made eye-contact with one another, and they felt it their job to make things better.

They had physically grabbed him off of the field during track, and taken him to where they had locked Marie up inside of a janitor closet in the school. When they got there, they threw him in, Marie catching him because the closet was small and there was no way she could have moved out of the way to not get hurt; the red and blonde Kankers then closed and relocked the doors — saying that they would not come out until they talked and resolved their issues.

Of course Marie was furious. She yelled and screamed and cursed at her sisters like she never had before, but eventually, she stopped when she noticed that she still had him in her arms — that she was locked in a closet with _him_ — and released him and turned her back to him.

He stood there in silence with her, for a good couple of minutes. His mind told him that he should just be quiet. There was no way the two Kanker girls would leave them there forever. However, his _heart_ told him that he truly needed to speak with Marie. It had been over six months since they last positively conversed, and that was such a _long_ time and he still did not know _why_ — why had she stopped being his friend? What had he done wrong? Did she hate him for those months of their pseudo relationship? Or was it something else?

Marie had been the one to ask all the questions in the past, she had been the considerate one, but now it was his turn. So he talked and asked her hundreds of questions — all left unanswered until Marie talked, too.

She said to him that she liked him. She still liked him in the way she did as a child — maybe more. She had _used_ him, she said, when they were in their relationship; while he had been curious and nervous, she had been excited because finally — _finally_ — she was able to do the types of things with him that she had been wanting to for so, so long. The types of things that did not fade with time, she said, but only grew stronger.

She started to cry.

She said she ended things because she had been such a horrible friend. She had been _selfish_ — an awful, filthy person for taking advantage of him like that. He deserved a better friend than her, she had said. Yet she also said that she had missed him terribly. She missed their hugs and movie marathons and the fun times that they would have together. She missed their friendship, too.

He started to cry.

He missed her as well — _lord had he missed her_.

They confessed as much as they could to one another while in that tiny closet. They talked, too, and caught-up on what they were doing in their lives, then. Marie was happy to see him getting accustomed to the track team, and he was upset that she had gotten kicked off of the wrestling team for being too rough, but glad that she was finding an alternative in roller derbies. She was thinking of cutting her hair shorter; she did not want the other girls to have an easy target with it came to their matches. He was actually thinking of growing his out more, and had been doing so for the past few weeks; this came from how much he had loved having his hair stroked by her, he said. They laughed, cried, and left the janitor's closet, close. Not quite at the level they had been before their friendship was stopped.

However, it would only take that summer for that to be rekindled.

* * *

Fun fact! For those of you wondering about what Eddward's sexuality is in this fanfic, there are many hints to it here.

Fun fact! While I'm uploading the beginnings of the drama-heavy chapters, I am physically writing down the chapters where all the fluff is going on. (For those of you wonder, that's past Chapter 15.)

Fun fact! I have gotten no sleep this night; I pulled a literal all-nighter coding for my class, and am operating on nap-power, only. I was going to pass out in blissful sleep after uploading this chapter, but now... now I'm gonna go play _HuniePop_ (Rated M) instead.

Next Chapter: I now return you to your regularly-scheduled time-stream.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	7. 7 out of 46

A round of applause for me actually getting the word count ( _including the author's notes holy crab-cakes_ ) under 5k. Also, I hadn't used my laptop all day Sunday and was up early so...

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _7/46_

* * *

He could not remember the last time he had cried.

Not hard — blubbered, bawled, or wailed — but simply, _cried_. He supposed it had to be back when he was failing school, and his father had given him his first taste of physical punishment with a black leather belt. He remembered crying then; choking on his own sobs, even, from the fear that if he was louder or moved or did anything more than sit on the ground and cry silently, his father would go back out into the hallway and force a second wave of pain on him. He could just barely remember the stinging pain, and the image of the red marks against his light skin, hours after the deed had been done.

His eyes began to sting with more tears because there was still mud on his face; which he only managed to move around when he tried to wipe at his tears earlier, and now it was falling into his eyes and causing him pain. He, out of reflex, tried to use his right arm to wipe away the tears since the left was being useless, and flinched — physically pausing his whole body a second after — when the motion registered and he bit at his cheek to keep himself from screaming out.

 _Fuck! Shit! God— fuck!_ Internally, however, he screamed. He screamed and cursed as loud as his internal thoughts would allow him; if it had been any louder, he was certain that others could have heard him.

He gripped at his right arm with his left hand, and a hiss spewed between his clenched teeth. He felt more frustrated tears start to leak from his eyes. He had to hold back sobs and the urge to breakdown and stop trying to be strong and just cry in the middle of the road that he was now crossing. He would lay on the concrete and cry to his heart's content.

 _No_ , he told himself. _Can't give up. 'Gotta get my shit together and keep moving…_

He swallowed back down the urge to stop and cry, locking it deep in the pit of his stomach and hoping that it would dissolve there, and let out a shaky breath.

It was still raining. Hard. The droplets that fell on him felt like pins and needles digging themselves into his skin. Prickly little pains. They showered him completely, from head-to-toe. They managed to wash down some of the mud that was on him — he even turned his head up to the sky at one point and let them _prick-prick-prick_ on his face to get rid of the mud that was there and had contributed more to his stinging eyes. He found that he preferred being soaked in the cold rain over being covered in dry, crusty mud.

 _I hope I don't get sick…_

He reached the bus stop some five-to-ten minutes after he had left the trailer park. On the way, he would admit, he had spotted a car on the road that looked all too much like Eddward's — and he supposed that it was. There were not too many people in Peach Creek who drove silver hybrids (not too many people who drove silver cars, or hybrids, period; for they preferred red pickup trucks and cars on the road for over a decade and the standard black car over the fancy, new-age vehicles coming about). He found his rib cage to have gotten comparably tight when he spotted the silver vehicle; his eyes had even strained themselves to see if the people — the person — inside of the car was Eddward. The car drove by him too quickly, though — almost _too_ , too quickly, like it was purposely trying to ignore him — and he had not been able to decipher a thing about the person driving.

He had told himself, then, that the car had not been Eddward's. Even if it was, it was not. That was what made him capable of breathing again, and going on forward.

When he reached the bus stop, he noticed the one that headed in the direction of his home, had already arrived and was taking what few passengers were there. He sighed and went to sit at the one that went in the direction of the school, on the right side of the road. As badly as he wanted to go home and relax — to bathe and make himself warm soup and sit on his couch watching Netflix with Lacey and Trix at his side — he knew that he could not.

It was not the bet that he had with his father regarding his attendance. Nor was it that he could not miss a day of classes since that meant falling behind on some work, and he had been trying so very hard to stay on top of his school work since he almost failed freshman year. Nor was it that going to school was the "right thing" to do after the ordeal he just had.

No.

He was going to school because he would not dare to let Eddward and the Kankers win. He knew that back at the trailer park, he had said that he would go home — however, how could he? If anything, it was a physical admittance of defeat (opposite of the internal destruction he felt emotionally).

Rather than go home and hide and cry like a baby — because while he had swallowed the urge to cry, there was still the chance that it could reemerge at any moment and drag him and his sunken confidence down even further — he would go to school with his head held as high as he possibly could, and look each and every one of them in the eye as though to say, _'You didn't win.'_

He was a fighter, after all.

The bus came about fifteen minutes after he first sat down under the glass area that was used to provide some shade and shelter for people waiting. Stepping on, he noticed the look the bus driver gave him. The older, fatter man was staring at him with a grim expression as though he were some kind of foreign object. He ignored it, however, and quickly got out the spare change he kept in his backpack for days when his dad was too persistent in not letting him drive his motorcycle in the rain — although today and yesterday, he felt, his father had been spot-on with his worries — and put it into the admittance slot. A bus transfer ticket popped out for him from the side, and he was grateful to have it — because now he had a mode of transportation for when he would go to work later on that day.

He sat in the back, near the back exit, and distracted his mind by looking out of the window while the bus drove on.

.

.

When he arrived at the school after having gotten off the bus at the closest street and walked, he went along the perimeter of the land the school was built on, and headed over to the large building that was the athletics center of the school. It was detached from the main high school building, similarly to the library which also functioned as Peach Creek's public library; except what was inside was two floors of sports-related facilities and equipment.

The locker room was situated in the back of the first floor, and that was where he had been headed. On the way to the school, he had decided on taking a shower there, before heading to the nurse to get the sling fixed (and his arm looked at, once again), and then, hopefully, heading to class. It was a good, solid plan that prioritized his physical condition first, and class second; because at this point he knew that he could sort the whole mess over with his father with some honesty and trust, and that he was in good enough with his first two teachers that day, that they would accommodate his absence in class that morning.

He dumped his red backpack on the bench closest to his locker, and then opened up the metal container. Inside was his duffle bag with his gym and football uniform shoved inside, his helmet, pads, shoes, his towel, some body sprays and deodorants, and — something he was extremely grateful for at that moment — a second change of clothes.

Pulling out the simple white t-shirt and black jeans, he mentally called out his idiocy at being annoyed with his father packing the clothes into his duffle bag without his looking; later on saying that it did not hurt to have them there.

 _Thanks, pops..._ He thought. His father could be a real worry-wort (an extreme contrast to the hard-ass that tended to pop-up from time-to-time), but there were moments when it was necessary and he was more than happy to have someone like that in his life. Especially if it was his dad.

He took off his clothing quick and carefully, so as not to add more insult to injury, and kept only his underwear on as he went to shower in one of the private stalls; admittedly, he kept his eyes off of his right shoulder. He closed the stall door, and finished stripping by taking off his underwear, and began washing himself. He felt relief start to overcome him as he scraped away the dirt and grime; and while there was some difficulty doing so because of his right shoulder, he still managed to get clean — much cleaner than he had been before, quite obviously.

He came out of the shower feeling refreshed, and wrapped himself up in his towel. He then went over to his locker and dried himself and put on the spare set of clothes, with the same underwear and socks and shoes that he had been wearing before, because it was not as though he had anticipated getting thrown in the mud, and needing to retake a shower, in the first place.

After a few minutes, he was clothed, deodorized, and body-sprayed down, and put all his needless items back into the locker, and headed out. While he had managed to salvage much of his dignity and pride with that shower, his staple red snapback, which had looked more brutalized than his body with all the deeply-embedded mud that was now in it, was not one of those things.

.

.

On his way to the nurse's office, he came across something _horrifying_. Well, at least, it felt that way with how his body stood at full shock and attention, and his heart began to pound, when he spotted it. He had been so absentminded— no, correction. It was not that he had been absentminded, but rather that he had been so focused on getting to the nurse as quickly as possible, that he paid no attention to the route he had chosen — a route that directly led him to Eddward's locker.

What was worse, even, was the fact that Eddward was standing there.

The black-beanie-wearing young man stood at his locker with a passive look on his face. There was a large plastic bag in his hand that was filled with something that he, Kevin, could not clearly identify from where he stood some good feet away hoping that Eddward would not see him. However, the attention of the young man he was observing was not clearly on his hand or open locker, but pinpointed to a pink envelope he held between his fingers.

Somewhere deep inside of him, something twisted unpleasantly, much to his confusion. His eyes focused themselves on the pink envelope — searching for anything that indicated as to what was inside (as though he already did not know). He stood, almost breathless, as he watched Eddward place the plastic bag inside of his locker, and then tend to the pink envelope.

He opened it and pulled out a letter.

Again, his insides coiled painfully. They rumbled. They roared. He found himself holding his breath in as Eddward read the letter.

He was not sure how to feel — he did not even know why he was reacting so badly to seeing the letter in Eddward's possession and reading it. He did not know why he wanted Eddward to crumple up the letter and the pink envelope it came in, and toss it in the nearest waste bin.

" _I like you!"_

The words flew into his head. He focused on them; yet he was pushed back by them, as well. Was that it? Was he so bothered by this pink envelope and letter because he… _liked_ , Eddward? It could not be, he felt. He liked Eddward in an almost friend type of way — that was the only way he knew. Yet, at the same time… had he not kissed Eddward? twice? and in a way that "friends" simply did not kiss? No. He had seen Eddward and Marie kiss on the lips about a dozen times, even after their break-up. They were _just friends_ , were they not?

He felt himself getting annoyed and frustrated with his internal monologue and attempt to justify— nay, to clarify, why it was that he was bothered by what he was seeing. At the same time, he could not help the new wave of annoyance that came when he saw Eddward smile at the letter, neatly fold it up, put it back inside the pink envelope, and put it in his back pocket.

 _He's keeping it?!_

He stood at that exact spot until Eddward left. Once he did, he found himself sucking his teeth at what he had just seen transpire, and feeling a new set of emotions mixing in with the hot-pot that he had already formed from the morning's — yesterday and today's — unfortunate events.

He forced it all down to bubble and hopefully dissolve in his stomach, and continued on his way to the nurse's office. He avoided glancing at Eddward's locker as he passed it.

.

.

Needless to say, nurse Flo was not quite happy with him when he entered her office. He wished he had come in waving a white flag and an offering of peace, when those cold, analyzing eyes of hers landed on him and noticed the sling that _should have been_ on his arm, sticking out from his front pocket, instead.

"You really want to get that amputation, don't you?" She asked. She stood from the chair in front of her computer, and, surprisingly enough (or not too surprising, he could not decide), she took a cigarette that she had been smoking, from her mouth, and dumped it in the ash tray. Almost immediately, she replaced it with a stick of gum and some _Mentos_.

"Better an amputation than lung cancer." He remarked.

"Oh har-har." She said. Her heels clicked on the floor and only stopped when she was finally standing in front of him. She was looking up at him from his head to his toes, as though she were searching for something.

"I wasn't in a fight or anything." He said. _Sorta_ , he thought. "I just… can't put it back on myself."

"And how did you get it on this morning?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm going to assume you at least wore it then, right? Given how you just phrased your sentence."

"My dad helped me."

"And it got off how…?" She asked, stretching the sentence. In his mind, he could imagine her being his age. The type of girl that would have her hair up in twin pigtails and a lollipop constantly in her mouth; he could almost see her twirling that hypothetical lollipop, now. Perhaps at one point in her life, she was? She seemed to give off that air, somehow.

"Not telling." He said, his face growing more serious. "I'd rather not… relive that at the moment, if you don't mind."

She caught on, and nodded. "Sit down, then."

"Why? Can't you put it on with me standing?"

"Don't be an idiot, boy. I have to assess the damage you caused to your shoulder, _now_. Now sit down and shut up."

As he felt her to be the type of woman he did not want arguing with, he obeyed and sat down on the bed in the office. This time, there was no one else there — since the school day just started about a half-hour ago — and the curtains separating the three beds were all drawn back. He sat on the one in the middle, where he had sat last time. Nurse Flo, once he was seated, pulled back the hem of his white shirt to take a look at his shoulder.

" _Fuck_." She cursed.

"I thought you said you shouldn't curse around students?" He asked; avoiding looking at his shoulder.

"That was because the little freshman girl was here last time. You, on the other hand, have probably heard — probably _said_ — worse than that. So be silent." She told him, face-to-face, before turning her head down and back to his shoulder. The red coloring of it had started to turn purple in some areas. "You're challenging the Gods with this shoulder, boy. Aren't you on the football team? Isn't Homecoming close?"

"I know, I know." Kevin said. "I swear I want it to heal — it's just…" He paused. He thought back to earlier that day, when he had used his shoulder in an act of brash stupidity fueled by boiling emotions.

He… had not meant to slam Eddward against the hood of his car. Really, he did not. What he had been aiming for was to get him to stop walking. He had not wanted him to walk away then and there; because he was not done talking; because he did not like the way Eddward had responded to his comment. Before he had known it, he had rushed him and his hands were dug into Eddward's shirt, firm against his chest, and Eddward was staring up at him with widened blue eyes.

"I'm an idiot." He said. He was unsure whether he said it to complete his sentence, or openly admitting that his actions had been less than intelligent and reasonable.

Nurse Flo looked at him for a few seconds, studying his face, before sighing.

"I can already tell. You're a teenager, after all. All teenagers are idiots — adults, too. _Humans_ in general, just…" She sighed, waving her hand. She moved away from his shoulder and went to her wall of cabinets to get some new medication to put on him; only this time, she went back with not just ointments, but gauze wraps.

"What're those for?" He asked.

"Bindings." She said. "To stop some mobility so you'll be more _conscious_ of the fact that you can't move your shoulder."

"I already know I shouldn't be moving it." He said.

"And apparently that's not enough."

He fell silent as she went about applying ointment and putting on the gauze. Before she did, however, she pressed down on the purple spot and he flinched; enough to make him look at what she was doing, and see the new color his shoulder was wearing.

" _Shit_."

"No cursing in front of school personnel." She said with a smirk on her red lips.

He sucked his teeth, and she went back to finishing up the work on his arm. When the ointment was on and the gauze were tight, she fixed his shirt and then went about securing the sling on his body. She made a point of showing him how to do it himself, with his one good arm.

"That way the next time it comes off you don't have to drag your body all the way here." She said, patting his shoulder. "Now, try to move your arm a little." He did so, and she saw that he could not move it very much. The gauze was working how she needed it to, and for that, she smiled. Kevin was grateful as well. He truly wanted to play at Homecoming in a few weeks, and did not need his arm getting in the way of that. The gauze was a nice addition, he felt.

"Thanks." He said, when it was all over. He hopped off of the bed and put his backpack on his good shoulder. He was glad to not have too many books to carry that day, since that made it easier to keep his backpack on his shoulder without it feeling too heavy.

"You're welcome." Nurse Flo said, smiling. "Now get out."

.

.

At each of his classes that day, he was significantly handicapped with his right arm, the arm he used to write, in the sling. As he could not move it, and was not ambidextrous, he was left unable to take any notes; he had to rely on his natural skills of memorization, and the kindness of the people he sat with and his teachers, to get him some notes. After all his classes, he talked with his teachers about how he would get the notes from class, each day. They agreed to let him bring in his iPad and use that to type — "But _only_ for notes," they all warned.

During his lunch period, his friends kept asking him repeatedly what had happened. They all assumed that he had gotten into some sort of fight and jacked his arm up. While that was… sort of what happened, he told them only that he had fallen victim to an accident at work, but that he would be fine by the time he had to play for the Homecoming game in a few weeks. Regardless, his friends teased him that there was more to the story and joked that eventually he would need a cast. Nazz, especially, was very verbal about how she would cover it with a rainbow of doddles from the multiple glitter pens she used throughout the day, if that were the case.

"I'll even kiss it with my favorite, limited-edition lipstick." She said with a playful wink at him.

Other girls, too, said the same, while his male friends said they would draw crude images over it with a permanent Sharpie.

"You guys are dicks." He said.

"It's funny you mention 'dicks'." One of them replied with a smirk. He rolled his eye at the male companion.

"Well, whatever. It's not like I'm gonna need a cast, anyways. I'll be good in a few weeks. You'll see. Hell, I won't be surprised if I can get it off next week or something."

"Sure, sure." The same male friend said. "We'll see."

"You _will_."

The lunch period ended. The school day went on; and soon he found himself at the bus stop waiting for the one that would take him to downtown Peach Creek, where he would need to talk to Mo and Tasha about work that week. It was still raining, so he took out the umbrella his dad had put in his backpack the day before, to use.

"Kevin, what're you doing?" Nazz asked as she pulled-up in her car. She had the top of her car up to protect her from the rain. Johnny was inside next to her, messing around with an app on his phone (he had become quite the programmer over the years; he was much quieter now, too, since there were so many ideas in his head that he could not waste much time speaking), and she semi-leaned over him with his window rolled down to talk to him.

"Waiting for the bus. I gotta get down to Mo and Tasha's to talk about work this week." He gave a side-glance to his shoulder. "…And possibly some weeks after."

"What happened to, 'I'll be fine by next week'?" Nazz teased.

"Hey, just being realistic." He said, with a smile on his face and a shrug.

"Well then, get in. I wanted to drive you home anyways since I knew your dad wouldn't let you drive your motorcycle to school in the rain. Especially not with your arm like that." She unlocked the back door, and he stepped in. "Did you take the bus this morning, too?" She asked.

"Yeah…" He responded.

On the way to Mo and Tasha's, Nazz and he chatted about nearly everything. In those days, it was hard for the two of them to get together like they used to, since their lives were starting to go in their own directions. While he was busy with football practice and work and home, Nazz had her time filled-up with student government and cheer practice (which she was incredibly happy to be able to do both with their new schedules that year), as well as her own, part-time job which she used to fuel her many interests. Nazz, unlike him, seemed to be breezing through high-school and looked to be a lawyer in the future — just like Elle Woods in _Legally Blonde_ , she always said.

"We _have to_ go do something one of these days." She said to him, excitedly. "We barely get to see each other except those few times at school, and we, like, _live_ near each other. It's ridiculous."

Kevin chuckled. "You're right. You're right." He said. "There're some movies coming out in the next town over. We could go to some of those."

"Mmm. I can't remember the last time we were even in the same _car_ together, before now." She said. "You were always on your bike and then on your motorcycle and—"

"I'll take you to school on my motorcycle one day, if you want." He said.

She paused.

"That'd be nice."

They arrived at Mo and Tasha's, and while he went in to speak with his bosses, Nazz said that she and Johnny would wait for him in her car. He went in and told them that because of his injury, he probably would not be able to do much at work that week — he probably would not be able to work, at all. Tasha was frustrated; not at him, but the worker who originally caused the injury.

"You're such a hard worker, Kevin. Loyal, too. I hate to see your hours getting cut back on with your injury." She said.

"It's fine, it's fine." He said, trying to remedy the situation. "I don't really mind. To be honest, I just wanna heal as fast as possible and if this is the way…" Tasha still looked frustrated and like she was ready to go walk over to the employee who had done that to him, and go have a talk with him. He added, "And it was my fault, anyways, that it got worse."

"Tasha, honey," Mo said, putting his hands gently on his wife. "Kevin can just pick-up some overtime when he gets better, if he likes."

"Oh… whatever." She said. "Just heal up, Kevin. I want you back here starry-eyed and capable of working, as soon as possible." Her face had grown softer, and she was smiling. There was still some concern in her eyes, but her attention seemed to have shifted to what was more important.

Kevin smiled, nodding. "Of course. Thank you." He was ready to leave the auto-body repair shop when he accidentally walked into someone.

Looking up at them, ready to apologize, he saw that it was Eddward.

* * *

I hate to leave you guys on such a cliffhanger (especially since I know the next chapter's contents), but... yeah.

Next Chapter: *me chanting* Fight, fight, _fight_!

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	8. 8 out of 46

I'm very glad that with the way the scheduling for this story goes, _this_ particular chapter is posted on this day — because it's a shorter wait until the next update. You'll see why in a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _8/46_

* * *

In his mind, he told himself that he should have known that a mechanics-enthusiast like Kevin had found work at the only auto-body repair shops in all of Peach Creek. After all, Lee had found employment there as well, and she and Kevin often looked like they had been cut from the same wood — or in this case, formed from the same sheet of metal. So when it came to physically bumping into Kevin while he dropped off Lee at her place of work whilst simultaneously taking his vehicle in for its monthly maintenance, in reality, he should not have been as shocked and stunned as he was. He should not have stood there staring at Kevin, wide-eyed, for a few seconds.

"K-kevin?" He should not have asked; the surprise clearly evident in his voice. A part of his insides went straight to the point and yelled _'Too soon! Too soon!'_ yet again. First it was seeing Kevin the day after he violated his personal space and feelings once again, and now it was seeing him a mere couple of hours after that morning's unfortunate incident.

"Edd?" Kevin looked equally surprised to see him. Good. That put them on an equal playing field.

"I am… going to assume that this is your place of employment and you have come to…" He glanced at Kevin's restrained arm for a second. "Make the proper arrangements to accommodate your injury?"

"Yeah…" Kevin said; and suddenly, his surprised face turned into a wrinkly frown with green eyes glaring back at him. It looked almost as though Kevin wanted to stab him with his eyes. "But what do you care?"

"I expected such hostility from you." Eddward said, unfazed. "I cannot deny that there is some… reasonable basis for it, either. However, can we not pass the olive branch from one hand to the other and let there be _pacem_?" He held out his hand for Kevin; a sign of truce and forgiveness and understanding. While he had not been shocked at Kevin's change in demeanor, he was when the young man slapped his hand away from him. The glare still ever-present on his face.

"I don't want any of your… pac-man." Kevin said.

"Not pac-man, _pacem_. Latin. Accusative singular form of _pax_ , _pacis_. The English translation correlates to _peace_. The Romans signed the _Pax Romana_ — _'The Roman Peace'_ — some thousands of years ago for—"

"Alright, already!" Kevin exclaimed. "I don't need a lesson in Latin right now, dude. And either way, there's not gonna be any 'peace'. Especially not right now…" Kevin looked ready to walk away, and he, Eddward, simply would not stand for it.

Throughout the day, he had been plagued by the memories of that morning — his mind rife with over a thousand questions. He had heard from some of his friends that they had seen Kevin in school, wearing a sling on his arm (the detail that made them bring up Kevin Barr in the first place, since it was so rare to see the athletic "demon" injured), and almost instantly, his curiosity had been piqued. He had wished to find Kevin and converse with him at several points throughout the day, however, his luck had not brought him anywhere near that. Yet here it was giving it to him now, and looking as though it were about to take it away. He was not a pushy person, but in matters such as this — which had him twisting up inside and feeling… unlike himself — he would be willing to push Kevin up against a wall if necessary.

"Please, Kevin, hold on for a moment." He said.

"Why should I?" Kevin asked. He looked up at the taller young man with eyes aflame. Eddward could see it clearly written in Kevin's facial expressions that he was not yet ready to listen to him. That was fine. Eddward would talk regardless. He knew Kevin's nature quite well, and knew that with his talking, Kevin would eventually respond. It was the way he had always been.

"Well, for one, I am quite surprised to hear that you _did_ go to school today." He said. "You had mentioned returning home, after all." Kevin scoffed at him. "There is also this sense of… mmm… _relief_ , I believe, that comes with seeing your arm properly in its sling. I am going to assume that you visited the school's health department. Good. Good. As you should have."

Kevin rolled his eyes at him; Eddward could hear a low snort from his throat. He opened his mouth to tell him how unsanitary that actually was, but instead was forced to be silent as Kevin said, " _Look_ , Edd—" (There it was again. Kevin's key phrase. Oh how he hated it. Nothing good ever came from it when he used it.) "—I don't get what it is that you're trying to accomplish through all of this, and I don't care. I'm leaving."

"Please wait."

" _Why_?" Kevin seemed to snap at him. He felt that if he were to ever write a story describing Kevin at that very moment, he would have said that there was "venom" in his voice. Venom worse than any creature within his knowledge that had it. "I don't recall you ever 'waiting' for me before…"

"Yes, well—"

"I don't wanna talk to you right now." Kevin told him. "And since you're always so damn respectful of others—" The sarcasm was quite strong in this statement; almost like a verbal eye-roll. "— _Respect_ that I don't wanna see your face right now. Or for a while." Kevin looked ready to fully walk away, and had, in fact, taken a few steps, before turning to look back at Eddward and saying, "…I know we gotta talk about a bunch of shit at one point. Because I got a lot of things I gotta ask you, too. But right now isn't the time."

Eddward did not have a hard time at all understanding what Kevin was saying. He understood. He could even see the reasoning behind it being the proper solution to their dilemma, at the moment. After all, it truly was just _'Too soon'_.

* * *

Eddward speaks Latin now because I didn't take Latin for _4 long years_ for nothing.

Anyways, not... _quite_ the fight that I had chanted about last chapter, but still a jolly good show, don't you think? This chapter is purposely this short. Mainly for plot development since they can't always be at each other's throats, you know. Also, consider it a mental break from all the drama and long chapters of the past, and for those to come — because right now I'm physically writing chapter 18 and just... seriously. Brace yourselves for ten chapters — _five weeks_ — from now.

Next Chapter: Eddward and Kevin manage to live their lives drama-free for a month. _Just_ a month.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	9. 9 out of 46

Oh my gosh. This story is almost-officially a month old and — *does quick calculations* — almost 1/5 of the way complete! Meaning, there are like four months of this left before the big conclusion! Man do I love this scheduling thing. This'll be my biggest story ever, and completed the fastest out of my big stories! This makes me so happy! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 ** _Please enjoy!_**

* * *

It's Complicated

9/46

* * *

When Kevin went to the Nurse's Office that day, he could barely contain his excitement. It was just past 7am that morning — _the_ morning of the Peach Creek High Homecoming event. It was the day that he had been both working towards and stressed about ever since around one month prior to that time, when he had gotten the injury at his place of work.

The past three or more weeks had been difficult for him; having the sling on his right arm, his primary arm, significantly handicapped him in what he could or could not do. He had to use his iPad to write all the notes down for his classes, and he was rather bad at typing when it was just his left hand. He had been unable to practice much in football; while his other teammates were running drills, he had been either benched or at the gym in the school's athletics center, working on his legs since his arm was no good. Taking a shower, getting dressed, and other miniscule things had become a chore; walking his Pit Bulls, especially, had him worrying more than usual, since he could not rely on his second arm to help keep his girls in line. Then there was also the fact that his funds had decreased quite an amount not being able to work much due to his injury; the most he had been able to do was take inventory of car parts with his phone, and some inspections, with the pay being lower than his usual repair job. Finally, getting to and from school came with its own difficulty since he was unable to drive his motorcycle; while he was glad to have his friend Nazz drive him, every now and then, her schedule would make him either wait for her for long hours, or be forced to take the bus home, instead.

Yes, these past few weeks had been anything but pleasant for him. However, he felt that it would all be worth it if it meant that, after being a good boy and following all the proper procedures to accommodate his injured shoulder into his life, and keep it healing, he would finally be able to get it removed that very day.

"You're here early." Nurse Flo said to him. She was smoking a cigarette with the window open, again, and had yet to put on her white coat — her nursing uniform — over her clothes. This let Kevin see the old-school t-shirt she was wearing, with skinny jeans and _Converse_ sneakers. She killed the cigarette and took out some gum from her back pocket. "Although," she said in the midst of chewing, "I suppose that can only be expected."

"I wanna get this thing off already." He said. He went to sit on the middle bed in the room; it had become his usual place whenever he went in there those past few weeks for check-ups, and found it unoccupied.

"Oh come on. It couldn't have been that bad." Nurse Flo said as she grabbed her white coat from inside a long, vertical wardrobe in the room, and began to put it on, on her way over to him.

"Says you. I could barely practice for the past three weeks with this thing on. It was like… _Leg Day_ every day. What good are fast feet if my hand-eye coordination is _off_?" He said. Nurse Flo looked at him with a raised black eyebrow, and an odd form to her lips.

"Leg Day?" She asked. "What the hell is that?"

"It's when you work-out in the gym and do upper body exercise one day, and then leg-strengthening exercises the other day, to balance things out. That way you don't look ridiculous with one part overdone." He explained.

"Ah." She said. "These kids and their strange new terms nowadays…" She was finally in front of him, and he could feel himself inhale and hold a breath — and even have to fight back looking away — as she went to stretch his collar and pull it enough to allow a view of his right shoulder. He did, however, automatically lean in as he found that when she did not wear her heels, nurse Flo did not have enough height to look at his shoulder with no issues.

His eyes landed on his shoulder. The angry red mark that had been haunting him for weeks, was almost gone. The swelling had reduced immensely and it almost looked as though the red mark was just a flushed spot on his body from blushing or a fever or something — not a shoulder injury, he thought. In his opinion, his shoulder looked good — good enough to let him play in the game.

"Hmm…" He heard nurse Flo hum.

"What?" He asked. It was difficult for him to hide the nervousness in his voice. He was, after all, putting all his hopes into the sling being removed and his being able to play in the football game that evening. It was his last high school Homecoming, one of his most important games before college, and he could not _not_ play; as with that would arise a whole set of issues and missed opportunities that he simply did not want to deal with.

Nurse Flo did not answer him immediately, nor directly. Rather, after a few minutes of staring at and feeling his shoulder, she said to him, "I'm going to remove the sling. We'll do the same mobility exercises as usual." He nodded.

Nurse Flo removed the sling from his body, and then asked him to stand. Once he did, she asked him to raise his right arm horizontally. He did. She asked him to make small circle rotations that formed into big circle rotations with his arm. He did. Her eyes watched him like a hawk as she asked him to do some more mobility and stretching exercises with his arm and shoulder. During them, she also asked him the same questions as usual.

"How is the pain?"

"Barely there. I can hardly feel it."

"Is there friction when you move your joints?"

"Not at all."

"Does it feel comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Would you be able to do some pushups for me?"

He positioned himself on a horizontal slant on the ground, and did ten pushups for her. After them, she asked, "Did that hurt?"

"No."

"Was it hard or easy to do them?"

"Pretty easy. They're just pushups, after all."

When he rose once again to his feet, he noticed nurse Flo's mouth start to move in that wobbly way that meant she was thinking something over in her mind. Usually, it was always in regards to a tough call — meaning, that there was a 50/50 chance that he may or may not be able to finally take off the sling, and play in the football game that evening. He bit the bottom of his lip in anticipation.

Finally, nurse Flo sighed and gave him a lazy look. "Honestly… it's good enough to let you play today. I'll probably be seeing you — and several other of your teammates — tomorrow morning for another round of medical care after the game, but… Yeah. You can take it off and play. There's no denying that."

"Are… are you serious?" He was feeling the same level of shock that he had on the first day he went to the Nurse's Office, and nurse Flo joked about him needing an amputation. Except, this time, his shock was from a pleasant surprise; happiness; good news. It was from hearing that all the extra effort he put in those past three weeks to not mess his shoulder up any more, and to make sure that he wore the sling when necessary, had paid off. _Finally_.

"I don't recall being in the mood for jokes." Nurse Flo said. "It's too early for that, after all, and _someone_ interrupted my smoke."

Kevin grinned. A wide, toothy grin that stressed out the skin and muscles on his face and almost, _almost_ , registered as creepy for how wide and full of emotion it was. Nurse Flo cringed when she saw it, and was ready to comment on it, until the expression changed to accommodate Kevin's moving lips as he said, " _Hell yeah_!" In response, nurse Flo rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, yes." She said, rather unenthusiastically. "Congratulations. But like I was saying, that game will probably mess it up even more. I hate to say it, but you're still in the red zone even if I'm letting you take off the sling. Things aren't _fully_ healed yet — they're at _just enough_. Understand?"

"I get it, I get it." Kevin said. "I'll be sure to double-check the padding for my shoulders, then. And I'll try not to get hit. I swear it." He knew that what nurse Flo was saying, was true. He knew that she was cutting him a break because he was so eager to play in the game. He knew this, and that was why he would try his hardest in the game that day, to both take his team to victory and get as minimal damage as possible on his shoulder. He did not want that sling back on him so soon, after all — no matter how eager he was to finally get on the football field and play.

"Mmm. I'm gonna trust you." Nurse Flo said, as she went over to her desk and pulled out from the drawer a pack of cigarettes. "Just don't fuck this up."

.

.

Like all game day mornings, the football team was given special permission to not attend their classes from 8am to 12:30pm (lunch), for practice. Game days, especially Homecoming games, were huge in Peach Creek for the simple reason that it brought the whole community out together in support of the team. It was a "village" activity, as many people had taken to calling it; meaning that it involved effort not just from the team players, but also many of those outside of the team. For that reason, not only was the football team missing from their classes, but also were some members of school clubs and associations involved in the execution of the Homecoming game. This involved student government, the cheerleaders, the school band, and so on. However, it was the football team that lasted so many consecutive hours out of class.

Kevin was happy to finally be able to run drills and plays with his teammates. While he had been able to study the patterns the coach spelled out for them, not being able to learn it through muscle memory made it quite hard for him to understand and get comfortable with what it was that he needed to do. So he was very much grateful for the long practice.

It turned out that for the game, the coach and his assistant had come-up with formations based on who had the best upper body strength, and lower body strength and stamina. It was his idea that if a fast runner caught the ball a strong thrower, threw, then they could connect large gaps in between their players, and scatter and leave the other team struggling to connect the lines, themselves. They were focusing on illusion and confusion, and Kevin could feel his insides start to buzz with excitement at the changes.

The coach had taken into account how much leg strengthening he had been forced to do during the time the sling was on him, and put him down as one of his key runners. Suddenly, he was grateful for Leg Day having been every day.

.

.

After practice was over, he showered in the locker rooms and then headed to his locker in the high school, to get his books for the next classes. Practice had been great in that type of fulfilling way that came from not caving into the effects of intense workouts, and he found himself unable to stop the small smile on his face as he thought about how he could improve his technique in the few hours between then and the Homecoming game. He found the extra thought and effort into coming up with theories to better execute the new formations, to be one of his favorite parts of the game. While it may not look like it, football involved a lot of mental work — a lot of Physics and mathematics — alongside the physical aspect that people typically saw. It was seeing all his mental calculations come to fruition that Kevin saw that he enjoyed most — he liked being right.

It was as he was on his way to his locker, that he came across Eddward. He was walking from the athletics building and passing the football field, when he noticed the familiar young man carrying a large, cumbersome box with items spilling from the top. In what he had unknowingly, nostalgically noted as "true Eddward fashion", the young man tripped over his own feet and found himself on the floor, with the contents of the box — a large amount of decorative elements — scattered around the floor.

He would admit that there was a moment of hesitation inside of him, when he thought about going to help Eddward. They had, after all, not spoken to one another since their run-in at _Mo and Tasha's_ , a little over three weeks ago. Not to mention, there was still a sore spot over how Eddward had taken to his… confession (?) earlier that last day.

Yet at the same time, he knew that he could not avoid the young man forever. Nor could he deny that a part of him had wanted to make contact with Eddward those past three weeks. He had his own questions to ask him, after all; and knew that sooner or later, he would have to.

He took a deep breath and sighed. He went over to where Eddward was picking up the decorations, and put down his backpack next to him, as he went to help him. "Lemme get these." He said, announcing his presence.

He had made a point of keeping his head down while he spoke to Eddward, so as not to look up at his face, just yet. However, this did not stop him from imagining what Eddward may have looked like in that very moment, as he had spoken to him. Perhaps he was more shocked than he was at the fact that he had entered the situation to help? Perhaps he was, dare he say it, giving a soft smile as he accepted the help? Or perhaps he simply had on a neutral expression and saw nothing of it, trying to keep the interaction as basic as possible? He did not know. He was unable to look up at Eddward, just yet.

"That… is unnecessary…" Eddward responded with. He was unsure how he felt hearing that, but continued to help in picking up the pieces and then in the end, stood and put them back into the box. It was when all the decorations were gathered up ad safely inserted back in, that Eddward said to him, "Unnecessary, but not unappreciated. I thank you for the assistance."

It was in that moment that he was finally able to bring himself to look at Eddward's face. The young man looked the same as always, and while he had expected his eyes to look at him with the same cold harshness and superiority that he had the last two times they interacted, he found that not to be the case. His eyes looked… calm, he would describe them as. It did not look as though he found any excessive annoyance with his presence.

"You're welcome." He said. Eddward gave him a nod, and that seemed to be the end of their interaction, for Eddward then reached down to pick-up the box and walked past him as he began to head down the stairs that led down to the football field. Like many times before when he was around Eddward, Kevin found himself unable to end the interaction there, and chasing after him. When he fell in step with Eddward, he mumbled, "So, uh…" with no clue what to say next.

"Is there a particular reason why you are following me?" Eddward asked him. As always, he was quick as ever to pick-up on his, Kevin's, odd behavior, and make him feel rather idiotic for following his feelings sporadically, without any reasoning behind it.

"No… I just…" His right hand went to rub at the back of his neck. He sighed deeply. "I kinda wanna ask what these decorations are for to make conversation, but I already know that they're for Homecoming, right?" Eddward nodded; he gave a sigh once more, this one deeper and heavier than the last. "Honestly, I don't know what to say. I just feel like I should be talking to you at this point."

"This is a very inappropriate time to do so, Kevin." (He noted the odd sense of relief that came from hearing Eddward say his name. After the morning carpool's incident with "the young Barr", this sounded like—) "I have many duties to attend to in preparation for Homecoming."

"I can see that. Decorating committee?"

"…More or less." Eddward said. "Nevertheless, it is all the more evidence to you that I cannot take time out of my busy schedule today to converse with you. Not unless it is a fleeting conversation like this one."

"I know, but— I can't help but think—"

"I understand what you mean." Eddward said. They reached the benches for the players of the school's various sports teams in front of the bleachers, and Eddward rested the box atop a part of the wooden surface. "I… know that eventually, you and I shall have to speak about our problems with one another — as you alluded to, some weeks ago. However, now is quite literally not the time. Please, do choose a better moment for the discussion."

"What about tonight?" Kevin asked him, almost immediately.

"Excuse me?" Eddward asked, clearly surprised.

"Tonight. After Homecoming." He elaborated on. "Are you gonna be there? We can… talk in the parking lot in front of the library, or something. Like—" His voice broke off. He immediately switched sentences. "I can be there. I feel like we should confront this sooner better than later… Is that okay with you?" His hands went deep into his pockets as he shrugged.

Eddward scrutinized him for some time, before finally saying, "You are asking me to remain at school property well into the night. While I am going to be attending the event, there is no telling how long it will take for the football game to end, nor how long it would take _you_ to peel yourself from your peers and family, and make your way to the library. Not to mention, my doings during and after the game, are also a factor. It could be midnight by the time you and I are finally capable of meeting and speaking."

"I know, I know, which is why—"

"I will be there."

"Wait… what?" Kevin asked. He looked at Eddward as confused and surprised as he could possibly be.

Eddward gave a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. "Honestly, are you that ine—" He paused, catching himself, before clearing his throat and instead saying, "I said: I will be there. I have agreed to speak with you after the Homecoming game — be it 12am or 1am, I shall be waiting. However, let it not happen at the parking lot. That place is too much a beacon for mischief, and there is no telling at what time it will be empty. I would prefer it be the steps of the library."

"That's… fine with me." Kevin said. He was still stunned by Eddward's agreement to meeting up with him after the Homecoming game that night. He had expected him to set his own time and date, which he would have had to adhere to. That did not mean, however, that he was not happy with Eddward's acceptance. "I'll try to get there before 12, though. I do got homework after all."

"As do I. I, too, will try make a strong effort to arrive as early as possible, for this very purpose."

"Great. So, see you tonight, then?"

Eddward nodded at him, and he felt himself able to part with him, then. He left the area and headed back up the stairs that led to the pathway he had been on before he had spotted Eddward, and noticed that he had left his red backpack sitting on the concrete, for anyone to steal. He mentally scolded himself for being so ridiculous as he went to grab and put on the backpack; and then headed to the cafeteria hoping to have enough time to eat something — the locker forgotten.

.

.

The remainder of the day had flown by rather quickly, and before he knew it, it was time for the Homecoming game. He had gone through the usual process of freshening up and putting on his padding and uniform, in a daze of excitement. All he could think about was the rush that would hit him on the field — heart thumping, legs moving, lungs burning, etcetera. The football drills had been great, but simply nothing could hold a candle to the adrenaline rush he got while on the field — nor the buildup before it.

From where he and his teammates left the locker room, at the athletics center about a half-block away from the football field, he could hear the cheering and chatter and life of the crowd, and was glad that his helmet was covering the majority of his face, and that his mouthpiece gave him an excuse to explain why he was smiling so wildly. He felt almost jumpy underneath his skin, and let it out by shaking his hands; allowing the nerves to travel from inside him, down his arms, and to the tips of his fingers.

While the coach and assistant coach were talking and likely giving pointers, he was inside of his own head and psyching himself out. He was running through the plays they did that morning, and then once more in the afternoon. He was adding in his own notes and changes, and basically planning out the game within his own head. He had even taken the last few hours to doing some recon and re-watching of the opposing team's plays from the past year, and pointing out weaknesses and ways to combat what they might throw at him. He proudly admits to putting more effort into football, than he does the majority of his schoolwork.

It was about five minutes before the start of the game, when he finally tuned in on what was happening around him. He and his teammates were all huddled behind a large, opening banner that they would run through; and over the shouts of the crowd and the people who sat near the edges of the bleachers and could see them, the coach gave them one of his infamous pep-talks.

" _Kick ass or get off my team_!"

(Short, sweet, and to the point.)

He heard the team name being announced, and they rushed through the banner.

.

.

The football game… felt like a blur to him. When it was over, all he could really remember was looking up at the scoreboard and seeing that they had won — _barely_. It was one of their closest calls in the history of his being on the team. So close, in fact, that he had been surprised to see that they overcame the tie and when they had fallen behind in points, and actually somehow secured victory.

Needless to say, while the crowd cheered at their victory, afterwards, in the locker room, the coach told them how disappointed he had been watching them during the game. He said he had never seen so many mistakes in an opening game, and that the rest of their season had better not look like it did that day. He threatened to replace the worst of them with freshman, even, saying that they could do a far better job than some of the guys who had been on the team for over a year.

Inside, he was secretly glad that his father was at work and had been unable to see the game at all, because the last thing he wanted was for his father to see him and his teammates in such a sorry state.

In the locker room, after the coach left and as he bathed, the agitation of his teammates was clearly visible. Many of them had started mumbling and cursing, and one or two looked ready to start a fight with another player whom they had said had caused more mess ups in the game than any of the rest of them. He left the locker room, however, just as one player grabbed onto the shirt collar of another — over an argument in regards to knocking into one another and forcing the ball out of their hands — and a fight looked fully ready to break-out.

It was around 11pm when he finally reached the steps of the library. On his way there, he had contemplated whether or not he should follow through on his talk with Eddward. He felt himself in a bad mood from the results of the football game just now, and was not sure how this would translate into his feelings. He wanted to do the talk with a clear head, after all. However, when he got there, he noticed that Eddward was already sitting on the steps waiting for him, and knew that it was too late; his hopes of having the talk on another day had rested on whether or not Eddward would be in attendance and how that could be turned in his favor for an excuse.

When he was close enough for Eddward to hear him, the blue-eyed young man raised his head. The steps of the library were illuminated by the lights outside of the building, making it easy for one another to see each other. From there, he was able to see some people still left-over in the parking lot nearby, where he had originally suggested that he and Eddward meet.

"Greetings and salutations, Kevin." Eddward said, standing from the steps. He put his cellphone away to the inside of his jacket, where Kevin theorized a pocket lay, and began to pat at the back of his pants.

"Hey." He responded back. His voice did not sound as enthusiastic as he wished it to be, but he supposed that there was no helping it.

Eddward seemed to pick-up on his odd mood, instantly. "If you would like, we could talk another time." He suggested.

"No, no." He replied back. "I'll get over this eventually, but… I wanna do this now." He went to settle himself on the steps of the library. As he still had his backpack and extra duffle bag on him, he took them off of his shoulders and rested them right next to him; where he was certain not to lose them. Eddward did not sit at the steps, but remained standing, staring down at him.

"Are you certain?" Eddward asked. While he did not sit, he did lean against the stone pillar of the steps' thick, stone railways; with one knee bent and foot pressed up against it, and his arms crossed over his chest. His face remained passive.

"Yeah. I am." He replied back.

"In that case, what shall we talk about first?"

* * *

I think that from now on, Monday updates are gonna be early in the day, and Friday updates in the afternoons. That's a nice balance, don't you think?

Next Chapter: "The Talk" — one of many more to come.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	10. 10 out of 46

"The Talk" — first of many emotional disputes between these two. (Well not really, not after chapter 5, I think it was, but you get what I mean. First time they're actually talking face-to-face and confronting what's gone on. It's funny because right now I'm actually writing another one of those moments... haha. Yeah. There's gonna be quite a few of them.)

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _10/46_

* * *

"Do you hate me or something?" Kevin asked, straight to the point.

"Hate you? Whatever would make you assume that?" Eddward asked.

He looked down at Kevin from where he stood leaning against the stone railway of the library steps. He could manage to see Kevin due to the minimal lighting posted outside of the library, and along the top of the doorway. Lighting of which he knew would remain on until about 3am, part of the reason why he had purposely changed the area of their meeting. In all honesty, he would have much rather preferred to have that talk another day, but sooner was better than later; and this fiasco and tension between him and Kevin had already taken up much of his time and patience.

"Oh, I _dunno_..." Kevin said to him; not attempting to hide the easily recognizable signs of sarcasm from his person. "With everything you've told me about how you've… felt, it only kinda makes sense that you hate me."

"Kevin Barr, you are quite foolish." He responded in turn. "Of course, I already knew this." (He briefly played at a side grin on his face, quite pleased with himself and the facial reaction he got from Kevin, as he continued to look down at the young man before him.) "I do not hate you. I may find your presence and actions intrusive on a level that make me wish our paths had never crossed, however, this does not mean that I hate you. _Hate_ is such a very strong word, and so far I have yet to meet anyone who has garnered that reaction from me."

"In truth, I had believed you to hate me until your… remark, some weeks ago…"

He could see on Kevin's face the beginnings of a blush. He, himself, felt the topic to be blood-pumping, but held back the feeling of embarrassment and hesitancy as he pushed forward. He was uncomfortable with it, yes, but if he was to stay-up until the wee hours of the night conversing with the young man before him, he was certain to get his time's worth.

When Kevin did not look ready or willing to move the conversation forward, he said, "Tell me: What you said — was it the truth or just a mistake led on by a moment of fury?"

It took some time for Kevin to respond. During this time, Eddward did not push for him to hasten himself with his response; something he certainly would have done, had it been any other time. _Not now_ , he said to himself. _This requires time and patience. Allow it._

"I… don't even know."

He was unable to hold back the turn of his head and roll of his eyes and sigh of his chest as he heard this. This situation was delicate and required patience, yes, but that did not mean that he was capable of giving it when Kevin seemed keen on using recycled phrases. At that point, he could not shake the feeling that he knew what would transpire in that conversation, and become much less enthusiastic towards it.

"Hey!" Kevin said, raising his voice. "Give me a break here. This ain't exactly easy for me to put together, ya know!"

"It is also of utmost difficulty to listen to a broken record." He responded.

Kevin sighed. Eddward knew that that was a sign that this conversation was taking a turn for the more unpleasant, and that they were not necessarily making any progress — in whatever direction it was that they were aiming for, because even he did not know what was the goal for this conversation. He assumed it was to air out grievances and start the process of… perhaps, reworking the relationship? He was unsure. All he knew was that, currently, the conversation was not going in a positive direction.

Eddward watched Kevin remove his red snapback from his head, and run his hands through his red-orange hair — signs of even greater frustration, he knew. When the snapback was back in its place, Eddward prepared himself for another wave of conversation.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to figure out why." Kevin said to him.

"How convenient…" He could not help but reply. Kevin's eyes immediately lowered into a glare as he stared up at him. He looked down at Kevin for a few moments, before looking away and giving his own sigh. "Your lack of understanding frustrates me. I want answers, after all, and it does not seem as though you are… capable of giving them to me."

He pushed off of the stone wall, and prepared himself to leave. He regretted having high hopes for that talk. From the moment of its inception, he felt himself actually eager to finally converse with Kevin and get the answers that he had been begging for ever since the day Kevin first kissed him, about three years ago. It was why he had agreed to remain on school property at such a ridiculous time. He, more than anything, wanted _answers_.

Yet, perhaps… he should not have been so expectant of the situation. _It_ _is_ _Kevin, after all…_

"Wait." He could hear Kevin stand to his feet, and felt him when he grabbed onto his hand. He immediately removed his hand from Kevin's grip, and turned to him, ready to spew his annoyance at being touched by him since in recent times, that had never led to a good thing, but was made silent by Kevin's, "Sorry. That probably wasn't a good thing, right?"

"…Correct."

"It's just… you're so quick to walk away from situations." Kevin said to him. "At least give me a chance to put my thoughts together. Like I said, it's not easy. And I know it annoys you but… things like this don't come together in a day."

"You have had three years, Kevin." He responded. "Are you to tell me that after all of this time, you still have no… beginning of an idea as to why you have repeatedly… _kissed_ me?" Saying that word in front of him was something that he was certain he would never get used to. It seemed to bring up from the depths of his mind all the emotional torment he had felt on the two separate occasions when Kevin had invaded his personal space, out of lack of controlling whatever desires he may hold. That unpleasantness was something he would never quite get used to.

Kevin was silent, yet again. He could feel himself start to grow angry and frustrated and tired, yet again. He turned to walk away and leave, yet again.

"I just… maybe… I do… like you…" Kevin said to him. The response was not quite what he had been expecting — an eloquent and well-thought-out response that gave him all of his answers in a single paragraph was more to his taste — however, it was enough to make him stop and listen. It was something, after all.

"Such as you screamed at me some weeks ago?" Eddward asked.

"Yeah. Maybe. I don't really know. Inside… inside it's all a mess and when I think about you…" Kevin paused, sighing. He hoped it was to reconvene on his thoughts and find something accurate or close to what he felt. "It… it's not romance. At least, I dunno— I don't think of kissing you as something romantic. I'm not attracted to you like that. It's more like… What you did just got that from me because the first time… the first time you were crying and you were happy and you had worried so much about me and that felt _nice_ … and the second time… I think, I was just happy seeing you again. And having you worry over me — I was just happy to have you around… I think."

"Do you kiss everyone who worries over you?" Eddward did not like the responses he was getting from Kevin. Rather than clarity, he was becoming more and more confused. Kevin's current actions were… _disagreeable_.

"Of course not." Kevin said; somehow he seemed more… confident? He was unsure. However, he was certain he could see an immediate attitude change in Kevin; from the shy, rather soft-spoken and unsure man that he had seen but a few seconds ago. While Kevin's response had made him confused, it seemed to be a breakthrough for Kevin, himself. As though the pieces were finally forming in his mind — as though he found something he could finally _stick_ with.

"Then why—"

"It's different with you. I really can't explain it— err… I can. In some way, I can. I just don't know if… if it'll cause a freak out…"

"…From you, or from myself."

"…Probably me…"

"Good lord…" He mumbled. He brought his hand up to play with the hairs at the back of his neck, that always seemed to stick out from under his beanie, despite all of his hair being tied up in a bun. The short little neck-hairs became his focus for a few seconds as he contemplated what to do next.

He could feel himself… scared of moving the conversation forward. He felt as though they were past a gate of importance, meant to warn others from what was deep inside, and now— Now there was nothing stopping them from going forward. He could feel it. He would be able to get some valid answers going on, but now that he was almost there, he asked himself: _Do I… still want to know?_ He could feel his nerves building up, and his body start to break out in chilling goosebumps caused not by the air around him.

 _You have been begging for this Eddward, and now that you are finally to get it, you choose to turn your back?_ He asked himself. _How cliché and feeble-minded…_

"Tell me." He said in the end. "It may cause you and I some discomfort or pain, however… I feel that it is necessary. Logically… this is why we are both here, is it not?" His voice was soft and his eyes half-lidded with his own uncertainty. He did not think in that moment. He let his mouth move and create words seemingly on its own. Now was not a time to think and hesitate — action was the call.

It did take some moments of silence to get there — in which he found himself unable to look at the young man standing in front of him, and instead settled his gaze on the parking lot patrons that he could still see were there — but after some five or so minutes of solid, seemingly impenetrable silence, Kevin spoke.

He spoke without stopping.

"Don't hate me for this. Seriously, man, don't hate me. I barely understand this shit myself and it makes no sense because — fucking dammit — _how_? But… but… I know — hell if I do, but I do — that with you… shit is different. Different, yeah. _Different_. Like I said, I don't see you as like… a girl. Ya' get what I mean? Like you're… attractive and all — or whatever — but you're not my type like that. Nah. Not really for me. But… I can't help but think— you're kinda… _cute_? Ah, fuck. Fuck this. Damn. Shit. No. Wait. Wait. I got this. I'll finish. Look, it's just… you're cute. Not you physically — like I said, you're not my type like that — but it's just… the shit you do. The way you act. The way you speak. You're a huge dork, yeah — still are even after all of these years. But you're not a dork like the other two. The other two still piss me off. Especially Eddy. But you? You… you don't. I don't think you ever have. You're smart and helpful and can actually be pretty cool and your level of dorkiness is different than theirs. Like… the way you act. Yeah, that's it. The way you act — the way you've _always_ acted. You just… act nice. Not 'nice' as in you're a good person nice, but as in… I like how you act. It appeals to me. I like it, yeah. Does that make sense? Fuck that probably makes _no sense_. Whatever. I'm done caring. Thing is: I like how you act. I like how you are. I like the things you do and how you react to things and how you start things and how you can do so many things. I like how you're smart and dorky and do shit all the time, but you're always the one to clean things up and help others and just… Ah, dammit. I like you. Okay? I like you. Even the bull-headed shit you've recently been doing, I like. Because it's like… _you_ , but just a different part of you. And I can't help but want to get close to you… and be with you more and see more of the shit you do and, like… Yeah. I just wanna be with you. _Not in that way_! But you know… yeah…"

He took a step back.

Watching and hearing Kevin as he said all that, with about a hundred facial expressions occurring in the time he presented him with such a long… confession — admittedly his style — overwhelmed him, he would admit. He needed to take a step back and breathe a little. He needed time to process everything that had been said to him. He needed… air. He needed to breathe — he had started to hold his breath partway through that, and it was only then that he realized it. Almost in the same way that he would hold his breath when he went to try the jump over the river— except… maybe… metaphorically… now he had made it across?

"I…" He spoke without even thinking. He did not know what to say. Yet he was compelled to speak — and he said: "I am scared…" He could feel his demeanor and confidence and shell crack at the end of his two words. He positioned his hands to grab onto the opposite arms, and hold himself tight. He could feel himself shaking. He bit harshly onto his bottom lip. He wanted to coil himself in as much as he could to hold himself together and keep himself from… crying? Did he want to cry? He was unsure. He just needed… not to fall apart.

"Edd?"

" _Do not touch me_!" He yelled.

Kevin had taken a step towards him, and he took three back. He needed distance. He needed not to be near this person at the moment.

"I do not want you near me…" He said, lower. His rational mind told him that if he screamed louder again, the patrons in the parking lot may hear and come investigate what all the noise was about. The last thing he wanted was more people. In fact, he needed less people. One less. Whether that person be himself or Kevin, was of no concern; for either way, he would not be in that current situation. "Please, just… do not come close to me…"

The expression on Kevin's face read of forlorn anger. Sadness. Tragedy. Hurt— hate, perhaps, even? Frustration? Tears? He could not pinpoint any one emotion. It was all a mixture of negative intensity, saturating his eyes and face, and perhaps even his body. He, Eddward, inhaled sharply. It was too much to look at.

Then he watched red begin to spread over Kevin's face like watercolor; tinting his skin, and getting darker and darker as Kevin clenched his jaws and his fingers — and his _nerves_ — and looked ready to yell and scream at him. He looked ready to punch and kick him. Dare he go as far to say that Kevin looked ready to kill him. However… he watched all of it fade. He watched Kevin's hands go up to his face; he inhaled; exhaled; shook his shoulders; shook his head; his body clenched. He could see that besides himself, Kevin was feeling his own turmoil at that moment.

Yet he could not bring himself to show his care and worry at this. He was not stable enough to shove all of his own feelings down his throat, and show concern for the other half in this predicament.

Kevin moved his hands down his face, and he could see tints of red in his eyes, and signs of moisture along his face. While he had been struggling to keep back his own tears, Kevin had started to cry. Not just cry, but also — "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck… _fuck_!" — curse.

"What the hell, man? What the hell?! This isn't okay. This shit is not… fuck. Fuck me. Fuck you. Fuck _this_ …" He slumped down to the ground; knees bent, head in between, arms over. He, Eddward, looked away. He could not continue looking.

He could feel his own tears start to fall down his face, eventually, after being subjected to hearing Kevin's sobs and whimpers and sharp inhales to stop his own. He covered his mouth to not let these same sounds be heard. He was shaking even worse, now. The situation had escalated far beyond what he had wanted it to. He wished he could go back and stop Kevin from speaking. He wished he had not urged the man to tell him the whole truth. He wished… he wished he did not find a confession such as that, to be so _frightening_.

"I need to go." He finally said, voice watery and weak and unsure and hesitant yet eager — oh so very eager to leave and go back into a comfort zone.

He said that, and began to walk — only stopping when he felt another person's warmth on him. Immediately his alarms went off. He could feel an entire body pressing up against him from behind, and his heart raced, and his body shook, and he needed that other body _away_. He was fully prepared to turn and even yell and scream at Kevin to get away from him, but was stopped when Kevin said, weakly, "Come on, man… don't walk away. You've done that a lot already and it does… _nothing_. Just— stay. Don't leave. Not now… Please."

He did not know what to respond. "I am scared…"

"…Why? Tell me. Don't leave. Just tell me why. Why are you scared? I already told you…" He paused. "I already talked — your turn."

"I… d-do not feel comfortable talking about this."

"You act as if _I_ felt comfortable. That was one of the worst things I've ever had to do…" Kevin said. "And _you_ made me do it, so now… Talk. Be fair and talk."

He did not want to. Talking would mean confronting and he already felt as though he had confronted a lot — much more than he had the capacity to take — and to talk more and confront more… He could not. He simply could not. Yet, he could not deny what Kevin had said. Kevin had been made to talk by him — made to confront his insides, by him. It was truly, honestly and wholeheartedly, only fair.

As badly as he wanted to be selfish, he could not escape that.

He did not want to speak. "I am scared." He hated speaking about things like that. "What you said is scary — it is the _worst_!" He really, really hated how his emotions boiled over. "I just… so much stuff. This is not good. It is not good at all." He hated how his voice cracked and wavered, when he spoke. "I… I have been through his before, okay? A situation like this. Not good. It ended terribly." His body was shaking even worse. "I do not want to go through that again. It _hurt_." Oh good lord, he felt as though he were going to vomit. "I do not want to hear that or go through that again! It is scary and frightening and I hate-hate- _hated_ it when I went through it and I might not get as lucky as last time and have things end up well and just-just-just—!" He was a crying, disorganized mess.

"Edd? Hey, Edd! Please calm down." Kevin was in front of him, now. His hands went up to touch his face, and he could feel the pads of Kevin's fingers as he ran them across his skin and wiped at his tears. He immediately felt the nostalgia of the situation.

"A-are you…" He started, weakly. "G-g-going to kiss me again?" He was scared to ask.

"No. No. Not at all." Kevin said; still wiping at the tears — the increase of them that had come when he asked that question. "I don't wanna scare you like that anymore. Now that I know how it hurts you even more, I don't ever wanna do that." Kevin's green-hazel eyes widened. "I-is… is this okay?" He asked, tentatively.

Eddward thought about it logically. "…This is fine…" He paused. Kevin's hands were still on his face, wiping at the tears and tear spots still there, and as he had been staring at Kevin's own face while he did this, he could not help but say, "You have your own tears, you know… You do not have to tend to mine…"

There was the hint of a smirk on Kevin's lips. Perhaps it was to lighten the mood and try to bring back a sense of normalcy to the anything-but situation?

"I'll take care of mine in a bit. But first, you—"

"Foolish idiot." He said, cutting Kevin off. He removed himself from Kevin's reach, and while the young man stood shocked — scared, watching — he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a travel size packet of tissues. He opened the little plastic package and took out one tissue, and went to wipe at the tears on Kevin's face. His face was neutral as he did this. "You are so… Take care of yourself, for once."

"Why?" Kevin asked; he could see him trying to hide some positive level of surprise, as he spoke. "Does it make you… _worry_?"

He finished cleaning Kevin's face, and then put the tissue away, and got a second to clean his own. As he did this, he calculated in his mind how to respond. "…I suppose that would result in you getting… _excited_ , would it not?" It seemed to take some time for Kevin to understand what he meant, but when he did, the red-haired adolescent had eyes wide with shock and a face painted pink.

"I-I said I don't think of you that way!" He exclaimed; out of more embarrassment than anger, he was sure.

"Which is quite difficult to believe, mind you." (He could feel himself having been able to recover. While his body was still shaking, the tremors were of less scale and visibility than before. His heart was still pounding, but he could keep his voice calm. He was in a better mindset, for some reason — he assumed the tear-wiping had been a good distraction. Just what he needed to get back, steadily, on his feet and recreate the barriers around him that kept him together.) "Everything that you said… sounds as though you _do_ think of me romantically. Or something akin to that… As… uncomfortable as it makes me, that is what I think."

"I know what it sounds like. But you gotta trust me when I say that it's not like that. Like kissing you is one thing, but I seriously think that's all I can do with you. And it's not like I can do it at any moment. Like right now? Right now I don't feel the… urge to get near you intimately and kiss you." Kevin said.

"I know. You said you would not in favor of my feelings."

"Yeah. That and… I dunno. You're cute and all — even crying — but now… doesn't feel like the right time. I don't feel that urge. It feels like the right buttons haven't been pushed, or something."

"…How easy it is for you to admit your thoughts of me. What a change." He observed.

"Well… it still feels weird to say — to admit — but I feel like I gotta, you know? I might as well continue on and be honest to make things go easier for the two of us. Do you understand?"

Eddward nodded. He did. He even felt grateful towards it, as odd as it may seem. Full honesty would help him to decipher, process, and cope.

They went silent.

A lot had happened within the span of — he looked down at his wrist-watch, and saw that it was just past 11:30pm — a half-hour. He felt himself having gone through a big emotional change that seemed to suck away at his life force. He felt tired. Fatigued. He wanted to go home — not to avoid Kevin, but rather, to lie down and hopefully get some sleep and then… to rest. He needed to rest and renew in the hopes of being able to tackle the remainder of this situation, better, the following day.

"I need to go home." He finally said.

"Running away again?" Kevin asked him. He looked forward at the young man, contemplating how to act next. He wanted to make a snippy comment, but felt that that was not the right thing to do. For, in truth, he knew that Kevin said that out of his own fear; thinking he was trying to run away again.

"Not at all." Eddward said. "It is as you have said: that accomplishes nothing. I am just… very tired from all of this. The weight of the day has finally started to fall one me, too. I just wish to rest until the next day."

"…I can feel ya on that." Kevin said, visibly relaxing, yet giving a roll of his shoulder. "I'm tired, too. I feel like I need to sleep for a hundred years."

"That would certainly be nice. Maybe then I can wake-up and—"

"Forget all this happened?"

"—Be able to understand this situation better. You are quite the frustrating person, Kevin Barr." He said. This time, Kevin grinned. He seemed proud to hear him say that. In return, he sighed; annoyed. "You certainly jump back from situations quickly." He said. "You were crying but a few moments ago."

"So were you."

"I am still not fully recovered."

Kevin paused.

"How long do you think before… you feel better?"

"…Not long." He said. "I at least have managed to collect myself faster than it took last time. That is a good sign that the rest of me will come together in little to no time."

"If you say so." Kevin said.

Silence.

"So… how are you gonna get home?" Kevin asked him.

"My car, of course."

"…Can I get a ride?"

Silence.

"Very well, then. It seems that is only appropriate and the right thing to do in this situation. Please get your backpack. We leave now."

* * *

Oh boy, was that a wild ride or not? There's still obviously a lot of unanswered questions, but for clarity's sake (and because I feel it won't spoil anything since you guys already know about it), the "thing" that Eddward talked about and had him crying when Kevin made him elaborate, was his relationship with Marie. You'll see a lot of mention of that, and its effects, in future chapters.

Next Chapter: Speaking of Marie...

 _Please review!_

Updates ever **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	11. 11 out of 46

Eddward and Marie had this conversation a few hours ago. Sorry I'm just getting you the juicy details now. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _11/46_

* * *

"Marie, I… require your assistance."

" **Edd? Is that… is that you? Dude, what the— frick! It's like… one in the morning…"**

"I know — do forgive me for that. I did not intend to bother you at all this night. Yet… I need your assistance, Marie. Something of great discomfort has happened to me. It has me… I need to speak with you. I selfishly need to get this out of me before it is too late. Forgive me, please do — but may I ask such a thing from you?"

"… **You already have. Do you need me to go over there? Or are you gonna come over?"**

"Over the phone is quite fine. I need not impose on you more."

" **Okay. Just give me a second to get out of my room. I don't wanna wake Lee and May."**

"Of course. I shall await until you are ready."

"…"

"…"

" **Ugh. There. I'm in the living room. I swear I hate when Lee when cuddles up to me. She's light, but she's so** _ **heavy**_ **when she's asleep."**

"It still astounds me that the three of you share a bed. I would have assumed one of you to branch out and gotten your own."

" **Not at** _ **all**_ **. We've shared cribs and beds since we were kids. Plus, it's King-sized, anyways, which is more than enough for the three of us. Now. Tell me what's wrong, Edd. What happened?"**

"I am… quite frightened."

" **Is everything okay? Are you hurt?"**

"No. Nothing physically disturbing has happened to me. My body is still very much mark-less. However, it is not the physical aspect that has me bothered. You see: I have just arrived home after having a… conversation, with one _Kevin Barr_."

" _ **Kevin**_ **? Edd! I told you to stay away from that…** _ **Richard**_ **!"**

"I know you have. Forgive me. He and I simply have so many issues that it collects taxes on my mental state, and sometimes I… I just need answers. I need to hear what he has to say so that I may move on. Or rather… that was the expected outcome — answers and a clear mind. The actual results are much more… unpleasant."

" **Tell me everything. What went on?"**

"Oh Marie… I wish I had not egged him on as I did. Or, perhaps, maybe I ought to have let some lies pass between us? He was honest — from what I could tell — and I was made to be honest even when I did not want to delve more into my emotions…"

"It was not the greatest thing to happen."

" **Edd… you know I barely understood what you just said, right? I get that you and Kevin had some sort of… 'honest hour', but I don't really know what happened. And I want to help you through this since I can already tell that it hurt you a lot. But you gotta be more…** _ **detailed**_ **."**

" **Or would that hurt too much? Would it bother you to go into it?"**

"…"

" **Edd?"**

"…Forgive me. It would bother me, yes. Regardless, I will speak in as many details as possible. I need your help coping with the results, after all, and you cannot help me if I am not honest."

"…"

"It… started at when can technically be referred to as yesterday afternoon. As you know, after the incident at his place of work, I had not made any intentional contact with Kevin, since. However, while I was helping to set-up for Homecoming, I made the mistake of tripping over a bumpy surface while carrying a box of decorations, and Kevin helped me to pick them up. Mind you: I did not require nor ask for anyone's assistance — he did that on his own."

" **He must've been in a chipper mood or something to help you. Or do you think it was pity? Or could it be… does he—"**

"— **have a** _ **heart**_ **?"**

"Marie…"

" **I can hear you smiling. You found that funny."**

"…Moving on. After he helped me pick the decorations up, I courteously thanked him and then went on my way. However, he followed me and tried to make conversation. I, of course, confronted him on that — I felt as though he were trying to share his feelings to me, then, and what an inappropriate time to do so. The result of that was him asking me to stay after the Homecoming game to converse with him."

" **Whoa, whoa, whoa!"**

" **You told me you weren't going to the game. I asked you like right after school, too. Edd. Did you** _ **lie**_ **to me?"**

"I spoke the truth. I did not attend the game at all. There was no reason for me to. I simply went over to our set meeting point around the time I felt he would be there. Marie, you should know that to you — nor anyone else, but especially to _you_ — I would never lie to. Not only that, but I also have a great distaste for the barbaric, thoughtless sport that is American Football."

" **Okay, okay. Just making sure. Sorry. Go on."**

"Needless to say, I ended up agreeing since I, too, wished this whole… thing between us to end. I felt that agreeing and finally talking with one another would help that."

"—Oh Marie, how wrong I was."

" **I'm here for you, Edd. I'm listening. Go on."**

"Marie, he told me… he told me that he… _liked_ me."

" _ **There's a shock**_ **. As though** _ **that**_ **wasn't plainly obvious from the two times he's kissed you already. I always knew he had to be gay or bi or… pan or something. A deep in-the-closet type, though."**

"Marie, he did not speak of his sexuality, much. Well… he did say that he did not find me appealing in the way that he finds those of the female sex and gender. From that, I am going to assume that he is very much heterosexual."

" **Then why is he all over you? Like I get the long hair can make you look like a girl— wait. Has he even seen your long hair?"**

"Only you, your sisters, Ed and Eddy, and my parents."

" _ **Well then why is he all over you**_ **?"**

"He says that what he finds attractive about me is my… personality. That is what is drawing him like a famished man to an oasis."

" **Oh… that's dumb. And it doesn't make sense. Isn't that some type of fetish? No. Wait. You told me that there were people like that. Your personality is like your mind, right?"**

" _Sapiosexuals_ , are the type of people in which you are referring to. They are scientifically attracted to the way in which the mind works. I do not believe Kevin's attraction is at such a complexity. I personally see it as some superficial cover for his—"

" _ **Richard**_ **attraction?"**

"…Perhaps. There is also the chance he may be demisexual."

" **That would seem to fit more… A gray-hetero demisexual isn't impossible — but it** _ **can**_ **be an actual 'phase' thing, you know. Although it's been like three years since he first kissed you. And it doesn't look like he's over it."**

"Quite honestly, I care not for his sexuality at this point. Whatever it is, I guarantee mine has already cancelled it out."

" **All-or-nothing aces are** _ **such**_ **drama queens."**

"Marie."

" **Oh calm down, Edd. You know I'm joking."**

"…"

"… **Sort of."**

"Moving. On."

" **Drama queen…"**

"He did make an attempt to explain himself. He was very keen on saying that what he liked was my behavior. He specifically mentioned my personality traits during the time I tutored him our freshman year. How I would… worry over him and be very verbal with my concern on his current problems. Personally, I feel as though he was specifically mentioning the… connection we made over certain topics."

" **Right. Right. That thing so personal to him that you wouldn't tell** _ **me**_ **about it."**

"It was not my business to tell."

" **Right. I know. Go on."**

"He just kept saying that that was why he liked me. He, did, though, go as far to say that he even liked me in my more stubborn phases in these recent times."

" **Definitely in-the-closet."**

"…Then came the horrifying thing."

" **What could be more horrifying than hearing him say that he likes you?"**

"He openly admitted to wanting to be with me, Marie."

"…"

"… **What?"**

"He said that he wanted to be with me more. Not in that 'romantic' way, he said. He was alluding to wanting to be around me more — as though what he sought after was a friendship between us two; in a more positive light, as well. It almost sounded as an invitation to be his friend, yet at the same time, as an invitation to be his… _boyfriend_."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Marie? Marie, are you still there?"

"…"

"… **I'm still here, Edd. Yeah. I'm still here. I'm confused and** _ **pissed off**_ **, but I'm still here."**

" **But this isn't about me. I can deal with my shit— sorry. My ish, later. This is about you right now. I know stuff like that isn't your favorite thing to hear. How did you take it? What happened after he said what he said?"**

"Marie… I started to cry. I could not hold myself together. What he said was so… _frightening_ , because— you. You know how I am with those type of things. Scenarios like that just are not my cup of tea anymore. Not after… not after last time… Being friends — in some way, shape, or form — is enough for me… That is more than enough. I wanted to leave, then, too — but he would not let me go. He held me there with his words. It is hard to explain. All I can be sure of is that I _greatly_ did not want to speak to him after he said that, yet I was trapped to do so, and it… Good lord. Marie. I feel so emotionally drained and scared for the future. I am even scared to see him tomorrow at school. I do not know what he will do or say. It is so…"

" **You're really freaked out by this."**

"How can I not be? Kevin was… the first person to betray the trust that I had given him. I… on a small scale, do want to be on better terms with him — but how can I, now, knowing his… very confused feelings for me? What if— what if my potential friendship with him turns into him wanting…"

" **The double-'D'?"**

"Marie!"

" **What? I'm sorry, okay. You know that's one of my favorite puns on your name."**

"…"

"…That is exactly what I fear, though. I do not think that I can handle him wanting that type of relationship with me. Never mind the fact that I have not had the experience of getting sexually intimate with a male. Getting sexually intimate, alone, is too much for me."

"… **You want my opinion on this, Edd?"**

"Yes. I very much do. That is precisely why I called for you. I am not able to resolve this on my own. I cannot think logically right now — but you are not personally involved in this. You can help me see the right choice. I have put my trust in you for that."

" **Good to know. Now, listen. I'm going to be very honest with you, Edd. Hearing how Kevin feels for you, I kinda want to kill him for you. I mean… what? I barely understand what it is he wants from you. We've speculated a lot on this — his sexuality and his purposes and all that — but that's only because we don't know what he wants. He said it's to be with you, but on what level? He says he likes you, but then says that it's just your personality and the things you do. Like, what? It makes no sense. He's so… wishy-washy and it's** _ **annoying**_ **. Take my advice, Edd. Don't do anything with or to him. This type of confusion is only gonna lead down a slide of trouble — and I don't want you going through that type of mental torment and frustration."**

" **All in all:** _ **Ignore him**_ **."**

" **He's nothing but trouble and you've gone through enough with him, as it is. Are you really gonna continue this odd thing the two of you have going on? You've said yourself that it's cost you nothing but headaches. Headaches and tears. Just… forget about him, Edd. It's the same thing I told you back in freshman year — and remember how well that worked until you offered to take him to school when it started to rain the other day? You did your job — you talked to him. Now you can get over him. And if he starts to bother you again, be assertive. Tell him off. You don't need to open the can of worms that is a confusing relationship with Kevin Barr."**

"As always, Marie, you make very valid points. My only fear is that that will be seen as me 'running away', and he was very adamant in me no longer doing that to him."

" **Flip him. He isn't special. And that's just his take on it. He doesn't know all the crap you had to go through the last time. Edd. You cried** _ **so much**_ **because of what he did. And you barely ever cry anymore, too, and you almost did telling me that he kissed you a few weeks ago. All that crying and mental distress isn't healthy. You know that. He's not worth it, Edd. Whatever friendship could be gained isn't worth the torment you would first have to go through."**

"…You are… right. As always, you are right, Marie. You are right."

" **I know I am. I'm smart like that."**

"It makes me very happy to have put my trust in you… Thank you, Marie. I greatly appreciate what you have said to me. It is of immense help."

" **You're welcome, Edd. Sorry I might've sounded… there's no way to censor it—** _ **bitchy**_ **during those last parts. Kevin just gets me so** _ **mad**_ **sometimes. It's like he doesn't think before he acts."**

"Believe me, I know the feeling. I have made the same observations as well."

"I must also inform you that you did not sound _saucy_."

" **Good to hear. Just… be on the lookout for him. Knowing him, he's bound to try and talk to you again or something. And personally, I feel like a lot of talking does nothing if he's just gonna remain the same way. It's annoying."**

"I shall. I shall. Thank you once again, Marie. I ask for your pardon in regards to waking you up so early for my predicament."

" **It's fine, Edd. There's nothing to worry about. It's just sleep, anyways."**

"You are always so kind. I promise to repay that someday."

"… **Buy me something off of my Amazon wish-list, then. For Christmas. It's never too early to prepare for it, either."**

"I will consider that. Goodnight, Marie."

" **G'night, Edd."**

* * *

At long last, "the mystery" is solved.

Next Chapter: Remember last chapter when I said that Marie and Eddward's failed romantic relationship would be brought up several times throughout the story? Next chapter is one of those times.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	12. 12 out of 46

Last chapter the reviews said that Eddward ignoring Kevin would be a bad thing. Well guess what, you were absolutely right.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _12/46_

* * *

Gym class. Third period. Class was being held outside due to good weather. He had fully changed in the locker room, and now stood in a line with the other students. He specifically stood next to Marie Kanker.

The young, blue-haired girl was sporting multiple multi-colored bandages on her arms and legs, as always, and stared straight ahead at their class's teacher, with more attentiveness than he usually saw from her. Normally she would be talking with her friends by her side. However, to be fair, he _had_ just literally cut-in on the conversation by wedging himself between she and a taller brunette. He had expected some of her usual hotheadedness, but instead got complete and total silence and body language that said that she, too, would not acknowledge him.

It burned him on the inside. He glared down at her through a side-glance, with his lips in a firm, tight line. He supposed his nostrils were flared, too.

He was _immensely_ peeved, after all.

The gym teacher blew their whistle. They turned their bodies to face the front. His eyes landed on the back of Marie's white neck, and wishing that he could burn holes through it. The gym teacher blew their whistle once more. They began to slowly jog, which eventually turned into a fast run where their single-file-line formation had broken into a pseudo line.

Despite this, he stayed on Marie's tail.

He made sure to never be more than two steps behind her, and keep-up with her speed when she tried to get far ahead of him. He would admit to Marie being fast, but he was much faster than she, and her fastest pace was a few notches below his. He was still in his comfort zone when she struggled to stay ahead of him. She clearly knew that she would not be able to shake him so easily, though; a fact that pushed her harder and harder to run as fast as she could — far faster than required for that gym class.

The jogging time came to an end, and he still stuck to Marie as much as he could. After jogging came teaching that week's drill lesson. They were playing soccer in gym, and had been since September after the physical exams. It was part of the reason why their gym teacher held their class outside while the weather was still good — "Soccer is best when in its element," they said. After a quick drill warm-up on passing the ball among teams that had been chosen since three weeks ago, they resumed the in-class soccer tournaments that were started last week.

On Monday and Wednesday had been the two initial play-through games that determined which teams would go on to the finale, and which would compete for third and fourth place. That following Monday, the two teams competing for third and fourth place had gone on; and one claimed victory. On that day, Wednesday, it was the time for the two teams fighting for first place — his team, versus the team that Marie was on — to battle it out.

He had been the chosen captain of his team, so he already knew his position in the game. Yet, he was not at all surprised when Marie, who had consistently chosen to play goalie for her time during the initial "for fun" games before the official in-class tournaments started, and the tournaments, themselves, called her team captain back to talk to them; and then moments later, switched places with the captain. Instead of the member of the school's official soccer team, he now stood in front of Marie at the center of the field.

"Shake hands."

They did; her grip was tight and her painted nails purposely dug into his flesh.

"We'll flip a coin to determine who goes first. Call it: heads or tails?"

"Heads."

"Tails."

"Tails. Kevin, your team goes first."

The ball was now between the two of them as the gym teacher settled it there, but his eyes were never off of Marie. She had her darker eyes half-lidded in a half-glaring, half calm-anger expression with her face like stone. While it was not too visible, he could see the fury in her pitch black eyes, and that she was waiting for him to make a move, so that she could, too, and likely go for his _head_.

Marie knew what he had been doing, and was itching to retaliate.

The gym teacher blew their whistle. "Start!"

It was his move, first. He knew that. She knew that. Everyone who had heard the results of the coin flip knew that. Now it was only a matter of how and when he would do it. He knew that Marie had only chosen to be goalie because she had been lazy — but even as a lazy goalie, she was unstoppable. He had seen her put her all in sports, before, when she was the only female on the wrestling team a few years back. She was strong. Fast. A dangerous opponent. He was certain that the moment he twitched his muscles to move his leg, that she would be on him in a second; ready to block; ready to take the ball away; ready to hurt him. He had to be strategic about how he went about this — for he had incurred the wrath of a demon.

He had been ready for that, though.

He made no physical indications with his face at what he was going to do. He kept his eyes glued on the demon that was Marie. When he went for the kick, however, he purposely made it look like he was going at it with his dominant leg, his right leg, and when Marie went to use her own right leg to counter, he brought forward his left leg to both block her right leg, and kick the ball so that it was within reach of his right leg, some meters away.

The game started.

At every moment in the game, it was a battle between him and Marie. If he had the ball, she would chase him down like the beast she was, and do something perfectly within the gym class's set rules, to get it away from him. If she got the ball, he would do the same in turn; often putting his stamina and speed advantage over her, to his best use. It was as though their teammates were not on the field with them — this was their private game, between their grudges, and everyone else out of their way.

It took about twenty minutes for the first goal to be scored. He and Marie had run the ball back-and-forth on the field, with no critical slip-ups between them, until he accidentally stepped on her leg and caused the both of them to fall. Rather than deal with the pain that she was surely feeling, Marie took advantage of the fact that he was down, and got up — giving him a swift, "accidental" kick to the gut as she got out from under him that was brilliantly disguised to everyone else's eyes — and took the ball and delivered a goal into his team's net.

She smirked while she swayed her hips and walked over to him. She stood in front of him with one hand on her hip and her head tilted up, lips in a satisfied smirk, as she said to him, in a sickly sweet and mocking voice, "Need any help, Kevin?" She did not offer her hand out to him.

"No thank you, Marie." He said firmly, standing.

She gave a chuckle. "If you say so…" She then walked around him, eyes still gloating, as she made her way over to her team. Her teammates had been cheering at her victory.

Their cheers did not last long, however. He would be damned if he let Marie get the best of him in that game. That one-point difference was critical, and time was running out. He knew this. It was why he pushed himself further — running, dodging, and blocking faster, better, and stronger — until, near the end of the game — not a minute difference before it officially ended — he managed to get past Marie and her intense offense and defense, and scored his own goal into her team's net. The soccer-playing goalie was defenseless against the ball's ricochet on the metal pole holding the net up on the right, and forcing it past him to enter and hit it on the left.

1-1

"Time! It's a tie!"

There was cheering among his team members, and groans among hers. As they lined up in their respective teams to shake hands, the gym teacher said that they would have the tie-breaker game next Monday; and if it was another tie, then, they would settle it with a coin toss. He shook the hand of each member on Marie's team, as they did his. Marie's hand was the last person's he shook, as she was at the end of the line. Again her grip was tight and menacing, as though she were biting him with her hands and nails.

After gym class, they each headed to the athletics building, at their own pace. He was slow to get there as he chatted with his teammates and his friends on the opposing team, about the game. They had all noticed that it was basically a two-man show between him and Marie, and wondered what had caused it.

"Don't tell me you, like, sanded down the wheels of her rollerblades or something." One had said.

"Nah. Nothing like that. Honest, everything is fine between Marie and I, you guys. It was just friendly competition."

"More like a _death match_." Another stated.

He had failed in getting them to see his and Marie's battle that game-day as anything but friendly, when he spotted Marie leaning against the entrance to the athletics building, with her arms crossed over her chest, and clearly waiting for him. They spotted her, too, and their conversation went silent. When they were finally near enough to her, Marie looked at everyone in the group but him and said, "Beat it. I got business with this one." She tipped her head up at him.

His friends looked at him, and he looked at them. "Go on, guys. It's nothing bad. Just go. I'll be in in a few." They did not look very much convinced; in fact, some said that if he needed them around for more manpower to go up against her, he need just scream and they would be there. Yet in the end, they all went into the athletics building, leaving him and Marie alone.

With them gone, Marie pushed herself off of the brick wall, and started to walk. He followed. She walked around two corners of the building, taking them to the direct opposite of the entrance; where almost no one, unless they specifically needed to go there, would be able to see them.

When they were there, he had no time to react as Marie did a swift turn, pushed him up against the brick wall, and caged him in with her arms.

Her eyes were narrowed in a solid, hate-filled glare, and her teeth were bared at him as she snarled. Her nostrils were flared. She was leaning in, invading his personal space. He felt the same fear and intimidation rolling off of her body that he would from a bear. A vicious animal.

" _What_ is your problem with me _Barr_?" She asked him. Her voice sounded calm besides the emphasis she put on some words, but he could tell that the calmness was sure to not last. It was just for the beginning. For the moment. She could probably barely hold on to her temper as it was.

He was not intimidated, by this, however. He was aware of it, and used it as a reminder to be cautious of what he had to say, but did not let himself cower in fear at her presence or body language or tone or actions.

He would not run away like that.

"Edd is avoiding me." He said to her.

Immediately her face twisted as though she had smelled something wretched. He knew she thought his statement foul in the same way shit was. He had expected this. When he had made the decision to confront Marie about Eddward's avoidance of him, after being unable to corner Eddward in any way, he had prepared himself for her reactions.

She gave a heavy, long drawn-out roll of her eyes; it almost looked as though she were fainting back. "Is _that_ all?" She asked him.

"Don't act like this isn't a big deal. I know Edd told you what happened. You two are… close. I know that. Did he tell you, though, that he promised he wouldn't run away from me anymore? I get that what I said probably freaked him out as much as it did me, but—"

" _Look_ , _lover-boy_ …" She said, slow and annoyed as she snapped her head back to look at him. "Edd doesn't wanna see you, okay? Yeah. He told me what happened that night after Homecoming. He told me _everything_ — like he always does because, you know, we're _friends_ like that. We have a _deep_ trust between us like that." It was clear that she was throwing her relationship with Eddward, both past and present, into his face. "And you know what, not _only_ did he tell me about it, but I also gave him _advice_ on how to handle you after it. He asked for it, after all. You really did a number on his personal safety…"

He narrowed his eyes at her. Marie gave him a satisfied, smirk-y grin with a glint in her eyes that told him that she did, in fact, advise Eddward to avoid him. It was her fault. It was all her fault. He wanted to wrap his hands around his throat and force her to take the advice back and to tell Eddward that it was okay to talk to him. That he did not have to avoid him. That he, Kevin, would not hurt him.

He restrained himself on that, however, knowing that doing such a thing would only get Eddward to hate him more, and likely have Marie coming up with more ways to ruin his… life? Social life?... Dating life?

"Take it back." He did say. "Take back what you said to Edd. I don't want him to avoid me again. It already hurt the first time."

"Hurt? Oh don't tell me — you _do_ actually have _feelings_ for him? He told me how you told him that you liked him that day. You know, when you went with him to my house and then slammed his body against the hood of his car? What was that, by the way? Did you plan to fuck him there? Could you no longer wrangle in your big, bad hormones Mr. Testosterone?" He did not answer her. He just kept his eyes on her eyes and listened while she went on. "I don't get you, Barr. Even if you were in love with the guy, do you just not care about how he feels? Like, don't get me wrong: I _did_ tell Edd to avoid you — _both times_ you got him scared as shit. But it was only after I saw how… petrified Edd was. If a problem has you frightened, remove its elements from your life. That's what I did by telling him to avoid you, because all you've ever done is make Edd _cry_ and fill him with _fear_ and make him feel… _invaded_."

He had wanted to correct Marie and tell her that he was not in love with Eddward, but was made speechless by what she said. He knew that his statement had made Eddward scared, but the look in her eyes when she told him those things, and the seriousness in her voice, told him that it had been far worse than he had originally thought. His… actions had cut Eddward more deeply.

Marie snorted. "Oh don't tell me. _Now_ you're realizing the damage you caused? Selfish asshole…"

"I… I didn't know. He _never_ talked to me. I tried to talk to him but he—"

" _Didn't want to talk to you_!" Marie exclaimed. "The poor kid had been hoping the two of you could leave your pasts behind and become friends. He had been… _so happy_ when you finally showed up for your tutoring sessions with him and were making progress. You know he covered you each day you weren't there, first? Even after I told him to sell you out and get rid of you, he wouldn't. He kept himself faithful to you because he had hope and trust in you. And you… at the end of all that, you _crushed_ it. Destroyed. Annihilated. _Murdered_. He was scared to sleep in his own home because _you_ wouldn't stop calling and kept pestering him. I had never seen Edd so phased by anything before. You fucked him up." Marie's face had gotten red. In her eyes, he could see that she had been keeping all of that inside of her for years — because it had been she who had been there for Eddward and helped him to get through it all — and now she was letting it all out. She did not look close to crying, though. She was strong and firm — attacking him with no openings of her own. It was almost as though… she was standing there for Eddward, and to prevent him from getting to Eddward, who metaphorically stood behind her, she made her offense and defense steel-hard.

"You're a selfish asshole who clearly didn't give a damn enough about Edd to _think_ before you _acted_. Even now you're still like that. You're mad as balls because Edd is avoiding you? Because he's protecting himself from you? And you find that shit surprising after everything you've done to him? Ha! That's a _laugh_! It only speaks to your true character, you pea-brained muscle-head. Asshole. Dickless. Fucker. J—"

"I get it, I get it!" He finally exclaimed. "You don't gotta keep insulting me, dammit. I get what you mean. And I know you're right. Edd has every right to protect himself if he feels threatened—"

"Then leave him the fuck alone!"

"—I can't do that!"

" _Why the hell not_?!" Marie's face was closer to his, now. He was a bit taller than her, so she had to stand on the tips of her toes to do so, but she did it, and he would admit that having her closer made him more cautious. He felt that at any moment, she would take a literal bite out of him.

"Because!" He started. He faltered for a moment when he saw the look in her eyes, but started back up again. "Because I just… can't let it end now like it did then. I want… I want at least to be able to hold a conversation with him, okay? I want him to be comfortable around me — I don't want him to be scared anymore! I wanna show him that I can be trustworthy and that we can hang-out together and that I won't do anything to him! I just… I just wanna be around him. And I can't do that if he's scared of me. And I don't want him to be scared of me at all — that wasn't ever my intention. I want to make that go away and for him to trust me and like me and—"

"Lure him into a trap?" She asked, sharply, with one of her dyed, blue eyebrows raised. His own eyes widened at her statement. He was shaking his head, his mouth ready to form a string of "No, no, no" when she continued on with, "Listen, Barr. Edd may be too nice and scared to ask you this, but _I'm not_. What's your endgame here? Hm? Do you really just wanna 'be around him' like you've said you do? Or is it something more? I'm telling you right now that if what you want from Edd is his ass or his dick or him as a boyfriend, you're not getting it. Edd just so happens to find sex repulsive and doesn't like guys."

He blinked.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes again. This time faster, but clearly with more frustration than before. "What are you hard of hearing now, too? You heard me. Edd hates sex. Like, _hates_ it. It makes him feel gross and uncomfortable, and he has bad memories with it. He also doesn't find anyone sexually attractive. Neither you nor me. So you've got no chance."

"That makes no sense. Didn't you two date sophomore year?"

"Yeah. And?"

"I know you two fucked. I could see it on your face."

"That's not the same thing as this. And it's also none of your business." He could see her face getting red by something other than anger.

"…What? Did you suck so bad at it he swore off of sex for good?"

Her fingers curled around his gym shirt and now more than ever she looked ready to throttle him. He could see her teeth grinding themselves together, and her face was redder than before from both anger and embarrassment.

"Listen you! You have no fucking clue what you're talking about! What happened between me and Edd is _our business_ and we already fucking _handled it like adults_! So _shut_. The _fuck_. _Up_!"

He gulped. Marie had gotten closer to him, and he had to raise his chin to keep his face safe from her. The downside was that his neck was exposed, and he fully believed that she was but a step away — the push of one, specific button — from wrapping her jaws around his neck and biting him. She would probably go for the jugular, too. Her eyes had already been screaming death threats at him since she took her captain's place in gym class.

Some breaths passed between the two of them.

"…I get it. You can let go now." He said.

"Not until you _swear_ to back the fuck away from Edd. You've hurt him enough as it is, Barr. And I don't wanna see Edd suffer any more."

"And what about me? I'm suffering too!"

"Just jerk yourself off in the bathroom or something."

"I don't want sex from him!" He yelled; much, much louder than he needed to and hoping that there was no one around within hearing range. The fact that he even found a man attractive in any way was already enough for him. He did not need to try and explain his statement to anyone else, so soon.

"Then what _do_ you want, Barr? You've been giving Edd and me shitty responses, and quite frankly, we're both _tired_ of it. Neither Edd nor I have the time to play these types of games with some _idiot_. If you don't want sex, then what the hell _do_ you want from him? Huh? What, Barr? _What_?" She lifted up the fisted parts of his shirt, and he could have sworn she lifted him off of the ground, too, if he was not still able to feel it underneath his feet. Marie just had that type of presence where she could bend reality and twist the elements around her to make him think what she wants him to. She was, in every way, shape, and form, a force to be reckoned with.

With all of this staring at him far too close in the face, it took him a bit of time to respond to her questions. No, her _demands_. She was demanding him to give her answers; in the same way Eddward had, but worse. Yet that was not the scary part. The scary part was that… he really had nothing better to say than:

"I… don't know."

She pulled him forward just to push him back. His head came to a dull thud against the brick wall, and he was momentarily distracted by that, until he heard her say, "I'm done with you. Now more than ever. And I'm telling Edd to stay the hell away from you, even _more_. Because now I can see for myself what a huge idiot you are — and there's no way I'm letting that type of fuckery get near him."

He rubbed at the back of his head, and turned his head to look at her through one eye. She had let go of his shirt and was walking away while she spoke. She took one last glance at him before giving him a disgusted look, and rounding the corner; fully disappearing from his sight.

* * *

Quick question: I've been mentioning the things that happened between Marie and Eddward their sophomore year _a lot_ , and you all got to see what more or less happened some time ago, but lately I've been wondering if it'd be a good idea to fully publish a fic on it? A sort of side-story to this one, centered on Eddward and Marie. There's obviously tons more to it than I've showed now, and I want to expand on that wholeheartedly. Of course if I did one, I'd start work on it after writing the last chapter of this. Thoughts?

Next Chapter: A very special chapter; both technique and content-wise.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	13. 13 out of 46

Happy Pi Day, Ides of March ( _Et tu, Brute?_ ), and the day just before Timmy Turner _ruins_ Denzel Crocker's life. _The Fairly Oddparents_ fandom will probably have a field day tomorrow. (And no, this chapter isn't late because I forgot it was Monday — I just did tons of stuff today.)

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. **This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots.** You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _13/46_

* * *

"… _Kevin…?"_

 _Hearing Eddward's voice after such a long time, was music to his ears. He could barely contain the grin that threatened on his face, but held himself back. He did not want to scare Eddward away, after all, nor set off any internal alarms. It was already a big step that Eddward had opened his house door to greet him, in the first place; from there, on, he knew he would have to tread carefully lest Eddward slam the door in his face._

" _Hey, Edd…" He said, hoping that he sounded casual and friendly. He held a hand up in greeting, hoping Eddward would see it for the white flag that it was. In truth, he was very nervous now that he had Eddward standing in front of him. He had gone over to his house that day, not really thinking that Eddward would answer his knocks, and now that he did… he was unsure what to do. "I, uh… h-how are you doing? I haven't really… seen you these last couple of weeks."_

" _I am doing quite fine." Eddward's answer was clipped and quick._

" _Really? That's good to hear. I was beginning to think you were sick or something. Heheh…"_

"… _Yes. Well, as you can see, that is far from the truth. Is that all, Kevin?"_

" _Err… n-no?"_

" _Then make your business quick. I have many duties to attend to today, after all, and no time to spare on such a person as_ _you_ _." Eddward's tone was the same as the day he had given him a second kiss — saying:_ _'If you did that, I would not have to waste my time worrying about_ _you_ _.' Yes. It was indeed the same thing; and from that, Kevin knew that the conversation was heading in a sour direction. He needed to do something, fast, that would begin to steer it in the right direction._

" _I, uh…" He began to scratch at the back of his head. He was missing his snapback that day, feeling a bit out of sorts with everything that was going on between him and Eddward. The tension and bad blood between them was making him uncomfortable, and he greatly wanted to get rid of it all and instead have something positive with the young man. Yet, much like with many other things in his life, saying it was one thing, and doing it another — and with Eddward, especially, the_ _doing_ _seemed nearly impossible with all of the security that was around him._

" _Let me be honest here." He finally said, after far too many moments at a loss and stammering with his own thoughts. "I didn't really think you'd answer the door. So I'm kinda at a loss as to what to say." Eddward raised an eyebrow at him; high enough to have it disappear under his black beanie. "Yeah. Pathetic. I know. But it's the truth and I can't help that."_

" _If you had no purpose for being here, then why—"_

" _No. Wait. It wasn't that I didn't have a purpose. I just didn't think you would answer the door, is all. I was honestly thinking you either wouldn't come to the door at all except to see who was banging on it, or would open it, and then, like, immediately slam it in my face after a second or two. I didn't think I'd get this far, and it's kinda overwhelming." He chuckled at this, but Eddward's face remained silent and stoic. He had felt it would stay that way forever, until it cracked and wrinkled, and Eddward brought a fist up to slightly cover his mouth as he laughed._

" _How ridiculous. You are the same as always, I see." He said this with the edges of his lips turned up. Smiling. Eddward was smiling. He was stunned. He had not seen Eddward smile in literal_ _months_ _. Even more so — "Come inside. It is cold out." — he was shocked by the fact that Eddward opened his door up to him._

" _W-what?"_

" _I said: Come inside. This weather is horrendously chilly, and I am already freezing myself standing at this door. My only two options are to shut you out, or let you in… I choose to let you in." He opened the door to his home wider; revealing more of himself and what was inside the darkness he, Kevin, had only been able to see, up until a few seconds ago. "Do come in."_

 _He thought about Eddward's request no more, and graciously stepped into his home. He was immediately greeted by the warmth that was the abode._

" _Thanks." He said to Eddward._

" _Take off your shoes. I will be down in a few seconds with some guest slippers for you to wear." Eddward said. He then headed up the stairs to the second floor — he found himself staring at Eddward's butt in the jeans that he wore, as he did this. He immediately caught himself, however, and made it a point to be conscious about it._

' _Not good, dude.' He told himself. 'Not good. Keep doing shit like that and he'll kick you out in a second.'_

 _He had both taken off his coat and hung it on the hooks that were in the foyer for people's clothing, and then slipped out of his shoes, by the time Eddward came back downstairs with a pair of… green alligator slippers._

" _You can't be serious." He told him._

 _Eddward raised his eyebrow at him again, and even pushed his hip out a little as he put his hand on it; the alligator slippers hanging from two of the fingers on his other hand. "It is either this, or you leave my house. I will not have you tracking mud onto the carpet. Neither mud nor the moisture and smell from your feet."_

 _He did not want to get kicked out "But, they're… so ridiculous!" He exclaimed. "I mean… they're like made for children. They have a back part and everything."_

" _I have a similar pair on right now." Eddward said to him. His eyes immediately glanced down to the taller-yet-smaller man's feet; where he saw that Eddward was, in fact, wearing a similar pair of full-foot-covering slippers. Except his were in a white rabbit design. "Now," he said, bringing his attention back up to him, "On or out. Your choice."_

 _He begrudgingly accepted the ridiculous-looking slippers. He was happy, though, when they fit his feet, and even more so when nothing flashed nor any music played nor any part of the alligator with its wide, gaping maw moved when he put his feet on the ground and moved around a little. They were so childish… and yet, admittedly, kept his feet warm and made him feel secure._

" _There. Now, did that do any harm?" Eddward asked, both hands on his hips and with a smirk on his face. It was clear to Kevin that Eddward was basking in his victory, and Kevin's ridiculousness._

 _He rolled his eyes at the young man. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. They're still dumb looking."_

" _You can always take them off and leave my house." Eddward reminded him for what was the third time in those five minutes. The young man put away the boots that he had been wearing, on a horizontal shoe rack that was under the small table that was in the foyer. Kevin had to once again catch himself as his eyes went to the sliver of exposed skin at Eddward's back, as he bent over and the bottom of his shirt rid up on his body._

' _Jesus shit Christ. Keep it together, man!' He berated himself._

" _Now then," Eddward said after he rose and stood at his full height. "Follow me to the living room. We can… sit and do something or other, there."_

 _He nodded, and did as such. Walking to Eddward's living room, he saw that the house was exactly as he remembered it from about three years ago, when he would go over to talk and study with Eddward during his freshman year. Its color scheme was still very much white-on-white-on-white, with labels everywhere and the white leather couch and matching loveseats, covered in plastic. The only, major difference was that Eddward now had a TV. When he had gone over before, the boy had told him that he did not have a TV because his parents found that he had no need for it; whatever entertainment he needed, as scarce as it may be, he would surely be able to obtain from his laptop. Yet now, Eddward showcased a large, probably 55-to-60-inch television set as the centerpiece to his home theatre._

 _He whistled at its magnificence._

" _What a_ _beaut_ _." He said._

" _Thank you." Eddward responded. "I purchased it a while back. Along with a new stereo and speakers, and a Blu-Ray player. It is a smart television set, as well, so it has Netflix and Hulu and even YouTube. I have subscriptions to all major service providers."_

" _You're shitting me." Kevin said, the grin on his face getting wider._

" _Not at all. Would you like to see for yourself?"_

" _Hell yeah_ _." He practically jumped on Eddward's couch. The plastic wrapping, he found, was much more comfortable than it had been before. It did not squeak under him when he moved, and felt like leather instead of plastic. He assumed Eddward changed the product and manufacturer, and was grateful for it._

 _Eddward went to sit next to him, and once he did, crossed one leg over the other, and reached to grab the remote that lay on the coffee table in front of them. He noticed that there were two remotes; one for the television — which he grabbed — and the other for the cable box, he would assume. Both of which had sat right next to one another within arm's reach of Eddward, and without their view being blocked by anything. In true "Eddward" fashion, the remotes were labeled, too._

 _The TV turned on, and Kevin sat in silence as he watched Eddward show him all the apps that were on the TV. He noticed that the majority of them were subscription-based, with one or two games or video applications in between._

 _He whistled again. "That's a lot." He said. "How do you pay for it?"_

" _I buy yearly subscriptions. They often come out cheaper than the monthly ones. My parents are also the ones to pay all of the bills." Eddward responded._

" _Your parents pay for everything?"_

" _Yes. I do not have a job of my own, what with all the extracurricular activities I must do. I leave the expenses of the household up to them. With a well-planned monthly budget, of course." Eddward then turned his head to him, asking, "What would you like to watch?"_

" _Hm…" Kevin thought about it for a moment. "I have Netflix so I already watch a lot of stuff there. And Hulu looks interesting — I've been wanting that, but then I'd have to pay for it and with everything else I gotta pay… Nah. Whatever. Let's stick to the classics: Netflix. I wanna watch Netflix. It'd be interesting to see the type of stuff you watch, too."_

 _Eddward gave a chuckle as he pulled up the Netflix application, and it began to load. "It is nothing of interest, really. Most of the programs I watch are documentaries or series cataloguing strange events on the Earth, the behavioral pattern of animals of all types, as well as some historical investigations — both hundreds of years into the past, and of recent importance."_

"… _Yeah. Sounds like a snore." He joked with a grin on his face. Eddward gave him a look that spoke of annoyance, before it relaxed. This made him relax, too, and he leaned back more on the couch._

 _Netflix was up, and Eddward clicked on his profile — the only profile there, properly labeled "Eddward"._

" _Your parents don't use it?" He asked._

" _No. They do not find any of the programs being offered suitable for their mental stimulation. It is the same reason I did not own a television set some years back."_

" _Makes sense." He said. "But then, why did they let you get it now?"_

"… _They have become more loose in their parenting style. It took some time and deliberation, but I did manage into talking them into… investing in my non-remedial entertainment." There was a small smile on Eddward's lips that told Kevin that he pulled some incredibly elaborate mind trick on his parents, to get them to not only buy him the television set and home theatre, but the subscriptions to the multiple services he used, as well. It made him give a grin of his own; Eddward had a side to him that he had yet to see._

" _Now, the question of the hour," Eddward said, grasping his attention. "What would you like to view?"_

" _What about something from your queue?" Kevin asked._

" _There is nothing on it." Eddward said. This made Kevin turn his head to the TV and notice that while there was a "Continue Watching" category, the "My List" category was missing from his profile. "Whenever I add something, I tend to finish it as quickly as possible. I hate a queue filled with too many programs. It looks so…"_

" _Untidy?" He offered._

" _Yes. Exactly that. Quite an eyesore, if you ask me." Kevin gave a laugh. Not a chuckle or a few snorts, but a laugh. That was so… "Eddward"._

 _After he stopped laughing, he said, "Alright. If there's nothing on your queue, how about… a horror movie?" He suggested._

" _Horror movie?"_

" _Yeah. They're always a riot to watch since a lot of them are so cliché and bad." He said; finding himself to be one of those people who was never able to get scared from a horror movie. He only ever looked at every detail, and nearly bust a gut laughing as he noticed the slip-ups of the characters, and came up with his own scenarios to survive them._

 _The look on Eddward's face, however, told him that he was hesitant to acquiesce. "Um…" Kevin knew, instantly, that Eddward was not quite comfortable watching a horror movie. He lowered his hype at watching one._

" _It's okay, dude." He said. "We can watch something else."_

 _Eddward's eyes widened. "N-no!" He said. "We can watch a horror movie. Whatever horror movie you would like."_

" _You sure?" He asked in turn, with an eyebrow raised. "You don't really look… up to it."_

 _He watched Eddward put on a face of bravado. He looked at him with sharpened blue eyes, puffed out his chest, and said to him, quite seriously, "I can handle it. None of it is real, after all, and I can easily see through their attempts to scare me." Kevin grinned at this. Eddward, he would admit, was acting quite cute…_

" _Okay then. A horror movie it is. Pass me the remote — I'll pick one of my favorites."_

 _Eddward did just that, and he spent about two minutes picking out the horror movie he wanted. "The Cabin in the Woods" was one of his favorites, for its usage of the "fake horror movie" concept that he loved so much. He was certain that despite its more graphic moments, the fact that everything fake is not hidden, will help Eddward — whom he was very certain simply could not handle a full-blown horror movie — be more comfortable._

 _He felt confident in his choice._

 _Then, he hit play._

 _Initially, the movie had his attention under lock-and-key. It was one of his favorites, after all, and he did enjoy watching his favorite movies over and over and over again. He loved watching the character's reactions, and always sat in anticipation of the next scene. That was, until Eddward jumped, and he quickly found himself with arms around his waist, and a head buried in his chest._

" _E-edd?" He asked, looking down at the young man. Eddward was practically sprawled across his lap, holding onto him tightly. It surprised him, and he was not sure as to what to do._

 _It took a few seconds, but Eddward did remove himself. When he did so, he did it in another jumpy, surprised manner that had his eyes wide and his face speaking of his own disbelief. "S-s-s-suh— sorry!" He exclaimed. "I d-d-did not mean to do that. Fuh-forgive me. I just got…"_

" _Scared?" Kevin offered; Eddward nodded. "S'okay, man." He said, offering a grin as a way to calm Eddward down and let him know that he felt no irritation or anger at what just happened. "You were bound to get scared. You don't look like the horror movie type."_

"… _Was it that obvious?" Eddward asked, tentatively, having calmed down. He looked a bit shy and ashamed at his reaction to the jarring scene; especially since Kevin had been rife with hearty laughter when Eddward jumped._

" _A bit." He confessed. "But if you don't like horror movies, why let me put one on?"_

 _Eddward went silent. The young, black-haired man turned his gaze away from him, and began to fiddle with his fingers. He recognized the habits as Eddward's signs of nervousness, and could feel the situation grow serious. He fixed his posture on the couch to something more attentive, as he turned his body to Eddward and gave him his full focus._

" _Edd?" Kevin asked once more._

" _I just…" Came a soft, almost inaudible beginning of a reply. "I wanted to be a good… host to you." Eddward turned his head back around to look at him; and Kevin found himself like stone under those blue eyes. "Especially as a way to work towards forgiveness after everything that has gone on between us…"_

 _That made him react. "What? Edd, no. You don't gotta do that." He said. "Everything's fine. Just you letting me into your house and us watching a movie, is forgiveness enough."_

" _Yes, well, while you feel that way, I do not." Eddward said._

"… _What do you mean?" He could not help but ask._

 _Eddward went silent for a few moments. The young man's face became unreadable in that way it always did when he was thinking hard about something. Eddward had told him in the past that he disliked when people could read his thoughts; it was something that stemmed from many games of Chess with his father, whom he said would always beat him just by reading his face._

 _It certainly served to cause him some internal turmoil, staring at such a high caliber "poker face"._

" _I… hold great lament for how I have treated you. Please, do forgive me for my ridiculousness."_

 _The response surprised him. "What? No way, man. There isn't anything to be sorry about. The majority of the stuff is my dumb fault, anyways." He tried to laugh, to balance out the gloom on Eddward's face and make the atmosphere lighter. He wanted Eddward to laugh with him, too, but alas, he did not._

 _Some silence went between them; the only noise being the sound of the movie still playing._

" _No." Eddward finally said. "You are wrong. None of it is your mistake — only mine and my emotions. I was foolish."_

" _No you didn't." He said. "I heard what happened after I…" He paused. "I know how much you hated it." He was immediately reminded of his conversation with Marie, earlier that day. The way in which she had spoken, the things she had said… all of them had made his mind sick and driven him to coming over to Eddward's that day. He had been truthful in saying that he had not expected Eddward to answer — let alone to let him into his house — but his original purpose had been to converse with Eddward some more, and finally work things out fully. Hearing all of that had made him feel three-times as guilty as before._

" _I… did not hate it as much as I let on."_

" _What?" His head snapped to look at Eddward. The young man did not have his head turned to him, and his hand was a bit over his mouth like it had been at the front door, but his voice was clear as he continued on._

" _I admit to having… over-exaggerated my distaste with… what you did." He said. He, Kevin, blinked in what he could only sum up as all of his disbelief poured into one, easily executed action. He wanted to say 'What?' once again, but found that he could not move his mouth to do so. That was unnecessary in the end, though, as Eddward seemed to pick-up on what he wanted to do and say, and said, surprisingly, with a very, very red face, "I did not actually dislike your kisses… U-understand?" He said softly as more red spread across the visible portions of his face and neck._

 _Kevin blinked._

" _Wh—"_

 _He was cut off by Eddward's exasperated sigh. "H-how annoying." He said. "I have already told you this twice. How many more times d-do you want me to say it? Jerk…" While Eddward's tone had been angry when he began, when he finished, it was much more watered down and… bashful. Not to mention, with how pink his face was turning, Kevin could clearly see the source of Eddward's "anger"._

 _Part of him wanted to go about the situation in a clown-like manner, but the more dominant part did not want that. The more dominant part of his mind was awestruck and wanted answers. "You're kidding me," he said seriously, "You mean… but wait— I talked to Marie. She said… she said you cried. She said I hurt you like hell when I did that. What do you mean you over-exaggerated? You mean you didn't hate it?" He caught himself. "You actually_ _liked_ _it? You lied about how much you hated it?"_

" _I did not lie." Eddward said to him. "I did cry and… was quite a mess after you kissed me. However… I did a lot of internal deliberation on it — after the whole… crying ordeal. It was frightening at first, but… I recognized that it was not your intention to hurt me. You were also so… gentle when you did it. I could_ _feel_ _you did not want to bring me harm, but I did not know how to handle it. I cried, yes. Out of both fear and confusion. Yet, in the end… I cannot deny that I did not hate it as much as I said. Thinking it over and over, I found it to be quite… nice."_

" _But—"_

 _Eddward had move so swiftly, that he felt it but a literal blink-of-an-eye time difference between his two positions. One moment, Eddward was sitting on the other side of the long couch, leaning against the arm rest. The next, his nose was filled with flowery scents and he could feel pressures on his lips, and felt the distinct warmth of another body against his own. It took him some time, but with the visual elements that his wide eyes picked up, he was able to put two-and-two together and realize that Eddward was kissing him._

 _He realized it just as Eddward pulled back; surprising him a second time within the span of a minute, with a mixture of different elements in his eyes that left him absolutely breathless and confused. Eddward bit onto his bottom lip, looking away from him, with his hands fiddling on his lap._

" _My apologies. I simply wished you would stop talking…" He saw Eddward pull harder on the hem of the sweater he wore. "I… the way in which you were reacting to it: it felt as though the only way to prove to you that I did not hate what you did, was to—"_

 _This time, it was he who kissed Eddward. He had been holding himself back, but the way in which Eddward looked that moment, had simply been too much for him. He brought his hand around Eddward's head and pulled it in so that their lips would meet once more, using his other hand to tilt Eddward's chin to give him easier, and deeper access; access that was granted to him when Eddward opened his mouth. His tongue licked at all the surfaces inside of Eddward's mouth; tasting and savoring, and swallowing his moans. To get an even deeper kiss, he leaned forward and pushed Eddward back, putting him fully on top of the black-haired young man, Eddward's hands on his chest. It was in this position that he finally broke the kiss._

 _He put his arms to the side of Eddward's body, and put himself in a pushup position as he stared down, wide eyed — with lips red and a small string of saliva hanging that he licked at — at Eddward._

" _What is the matter?" Eddward asked him. He licked his lips; surely to pick up some saliva that he felt there, too._

" _I've been in this situation before." He said, thinking of Nazz. "I know… I know what more or less comes next. And I dunno if—" He stopped. Pausing. Not for any other reason besides the look Eddward gave him; a sad look that was gotten across more with his downcast head and crossing his arms over his chest._

" _I understand. I expected as such. You… do not like males, do you?" Eddward asked him._

" _No — of course not!" Eddward's expression grew more grim. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just…" He was at a loss for words. "N-neither do you. Marie told me how you didn't find anyone sexually attractive… Was she right?"_

"… _She is. I do not find anyone sexually attractive — especially males." (He could feel his heart plunge into his stomach.) "However," Eddward said, turning back to him and looking deeper into his eyes, "I do… like you — and you just so happen to be male."_

" _You like me?"_

" _I do."_

" _How much?"_

" _Enough to allow you to do with me what you please."_

" _But Marie— she said—"_

" _I have unintentionally misinformed Marie. These are my true feelings, and I am telling them to you now. Please, stop bringing up Marie. Stop bringing up the things I have said before." Eddward moved his hands so that they were placed, gently, on the sides of his face. "Listen to me now, Kevin Barr. I like you. I truly do."_

 _His body had never quite responded to anything in the way it did to Eddward after he said that._

 _His mouth was back down on Eddward's almost instantly. There was less hesitancy and restraint in his kiss, this time. He kissed the boy under him in the same way he had kissed girls before him; perhaps more intensely and ravenous, though. His mouth licked and bit at Eddward's lips, and even left his lips to kiss around it. He left marks on his neck, kissed his cheeks and forehead and nose — let laughter pass between them when he kissed these silly spots — before going back for Eddward's red-red-red lips._

 _Kissing was not enough for either of them, he soon found. Eddward started to move his lower body and grind up against him, while still pulling at his hair and giving his head the most painfully sweet massage he had ever gotten. The grinding, he found, did not freak him out like he thought it would. He had never done such a thing with a member of his own sex, before. He joined in without a second thought, trying to match Eddward's pacing. He found their physical placements awkward for it, though; what with one of his legs in between both of Eddward's, significantly hampering the delicious friction. He took a break from smashing his face with Eddward's to reposition the two of them. As it was the position he had favored most in the past, he kept Eddward flat on his back, but moved his legs so that they were placed at his sides, instead._

" _What are you intending to do with both of us like this?" Eddward asked him, blushing._

 _Kevin smirked as he saw Eddward's nervousness. "Honestly? I have no fucking idea." He told the young man under him, before resuming his kisses on his skin._

 _This time there was nothing stopping their intense grinding. He and Eddward rocked back and forth against one another; in opposite, hurried rhythms that made his heartbeat elevate and wanting for more. His nails dug into the plastic on the couch, at the sides of Eddward's body. Eddward's blunt nails dug into his hair more. The throaty groans in the air gave way to gasps as he released Eddward's lips, and buried his face into the crook of his neck when the grinding became their main focus. The feel of one another had them rushing and moving faster; the warm gasps that hit his ear coming from Eddward, driving him more and more._

' _Fuck,' he thought, 'This feels too good. Fuck._ _Fuck_ _.'_

 _He knew already that he had gotten an erection. With all the stimulation he was getting, it would have been odd of him not to have. He could feel, too, Eddward's erection; which created a bumpy surface against the smoothness of his pants, that he pushed harder and harder against to appease his own._

 _He released a hard groan._

 _The pressure in his pants was beginning to feel unbearable, and to distract himself, he focused on Eddward. He kept at the grind, but made it harder and slower — earning a pleased gasp from Eddward that he soaked his ego in — as he lifted up his upper body and folded his knees under him in a way that kept him up, allowing him the freedom to start to explore Eddward's body._

" _W-what are you doing?" Eddward asked him. His voice attempted to be firm, as it always was, but it was clear that their movement and kisses and grinding, was having an effect on him. It was hard to stay together._

" _Just… touching."_

 _He put his hands on the sides of Eddward's waist — under the salmon-colored sweater that the young man had been wearing that day — and felt Eddward's smooth, white skin underneath his fingers. Eddward arched his back when his apparently cold fingers moved around the sides of his body._

" _Th-they are so cold!" Eddward exclaimed with an entertaining expression on his face._

" _Then warm them up for me." He said with a smirk._

 _The higher his hands went on Eddward's abdomen, the more the sweater rode up. Soon all of his upper abdomen was exposed; showing his skin, abdominals that actually had some tone to them, and pink nipples. Kevin immediately went to bite and play and kiss Eddward's nipples; loving the sounds he got in return. Eddward had no taste to him, but smelled sweet, almost like a woman._

 _Eddward's hands fell from his chest; Kevin did not know where they were until he felt himself pressing up against something that was definitely not Eddward's jeans._

" _Edd?"_

" _S-sorry." Eddward said, eyes closed. "It is j-just that… t-th-this is too much for me." Looking down between them, Kevin could see that what he had been grinding on recently had been Eddward's hands as he attempted to masturbate over his clothes. "My pants feel so_ _tight_ _…"_

 _Kevin watched in silence as Eddward seemed to forget all about him, and continued to rub at his own groin. It was clear to him that the pressure from his own hand through his clothes was not enough for Eddward. His face read of frustration and annoyance as he bit harder and harder on his lip. The hand then disappeared under Eddward's jeans and black belt, for more direct contact._

 _Immediately Eddward's reactions changed to more pleasurable moans and groans._

" _S-sorry…" Eddward said to him. "I just… y-you…" His voice fell away as his head fell back against the couch, and he arched his back. It was clear to Kevin that Eddward was bringing himself to an orgasm, and riding its wave. Watching him — hearing him — made his own erection more furious, and he abandoned Eddward's waist to put his hands in his black hair as he leaned forward and kissed Eddward deeply; the lower half of his body attempting to start the grind again, seeking the same release. He had his hands on Eddward's shoulders, as though to keep the boy in place as he rubbed against him more and more._

" _K-kevin," Eddward somehow managed to say, "A-as much as I… ruh-really love what you are doing right now, this is n-not working out. You are… muh-more in the way than h-helping..."_

" _I know. I just—" He began to chew on his bottom lip. In his contemplative moment, he lowered his gaze to Eddward's hand, which was still under his pants. He sighed. He moved to sit back on his knees, and then began to unbuckle Eddward's belt._

" _W-w-what are you doing?"_

" _It's not working out, right?" Kevin reiterated. He grasped Eddward's wrist and removed his hand from underneath the polka-dotted underwear that he could now see with the belt gone, and the pants unzipped and unbuttoned. "Let me do something, then, to make it better." He brought the slightly wet and sticky fingers to his face, and, one-by-one, licked away at them; tasting them; cleaning them._

" _K-kevin!" Eddward exclaimed. "What are you doing? You do not— that is dirty!"_

" _Shut up," he said, moving on to Eddward's middle finger, "I'm hot as fuck and want to blow a load any minute now. It's pissing me off, too, that you just went and jacked yourself off like that. Come on, man. That's selfish as fuck." He finished Eddward's hand, and let it fall to his side. His green eyes then centered themselves on the underwear. His hands went to the waistband, his finger rolling over the pleated fabric and feeling its texture; they were low enough now that he could see the beginnings of Eddward's pubic hair. "I've never sucked off a guy before, but… fuck it. If I do this good, you gotta do me one better, right?"_

" _Wait." Eddward said to him. In a bold move, Eddward pushed him back onto the couch. He, Eddward, got out from under him, and stood on all fours, hovering over him._

" _What's wrong?" He asked._

" _I-it would be unfair if you were to p-puh-pleasure me right after I finished, myself. Y-you deserve to have release… a-as well."_

 _Eddward went silent. He was slow, purposeful, and a bit timid as he ran his hands along his inner thighs, causing him to tense-up a bit. Eddward looked up for a moment, as though to check if he were in pain, but he nodded he visibly relaxed after. Even though it was difficult to do when Eddward cupped his erection over the cloth of his pants, he relaxed. Even though he could barely contain his growing excitement when Eddward began to unbutton his pants and pull down his zipper, he relaxed. He could not relax, however, when Eddward put his mouth directly on top of his erect penis, over his underwear._

 _Through the thin, cotton fabric of his briefs, he could feel the warmth and wetness of Eddward's mouth — his tongue, his saliva — as he sucked and licked and teased him through the material. He groaned. One of his hands went to push back Eddward's beanie and lose itself in his black hair. (Which, he absentmindedly noticed, was the same length it had been back in freshman year; short.) He used his grip on Eddward's hair to push the young man closer to his groin — begging him in his own way to get to his penis as much as he possibly could._

 _He wondered when Eddward would finally lower his underwear and take all of him into his mouth — something he could barely focus on with how_ _good_ _it still managed to feel with his underwear on._

" _Fuck!" He said. "Edd— fuck._ _Fuck_ _. Can't you—? Ugh! Dude, seriously — take off my clothes. Take it raw."_

 _Eddward had surely heard his pleas, but did not adhere to them until he was near his limit. It was not long to get there; he had already been built-up by their grinding session, and Eddward's skillful tongue and teasing — which lasted about a minute or so — had driven him to the edge. When Eddward stopped, he was seconds away from releasing in his underwear._

" _Why'd you stop now?" He asked, a bit angry and oh-so-very frustrated._

" _You asked me to take off your clothes, no?" Eddward said to him, with eyes glinting with surprising mischief, and a smirk on his wet lips. Kevin held back the excitement that quite literally threatened to burst from inside of him; especially when Eddward finally pulled down his jeans and briefs from his hips to his thighs, and his penis was fully exposed to the colder air of the room. He shivered._

 _Eddward's face was very close to his penis. Only about two or so inches away; red. Kevin could see this, and he had hoped it was the prelude to a full blowjob. However, when Eddward kept staring at his erection and did nothing else, Kevin, confused, asked, "What? What's wrong. Why aren't you… ya know, sucking me off already?"_

"… _I do not know what to do with this." Eddward said._

" _What?"_

" _I do not know what to do with it. I have never dealt with a penis before. I fear I require some… instructions on how to handle it properly."_

" _Instructions?" He repeated, with a look of disbelief on his face; he could feel his erection dwindling the longer time passed, and that in no way made him happy. "There aren't any instructions. It's a dick, dude. You have one, don't you? You just jacked it off a couple of minutes ago, too."_

" _Yes, however, that was mine, and this is yours. Now, tell me, Kevin," Eddward said, looking up at him from where his head still hovered over his penis, "What would you like me to do?"_

 _It was at that moment that Kevin understood what Eddward wanted to do. He smirked, feeling himself getting caught in Eddward's game. He pulled at the hair he still had bunched in his fingers, and brought Eddward's head up to meet his; where he gave him a deep, wet, and sloppy kiss coated in his desires. When he released it, with a string of saliva between them that Eddward licked up, he said to him, "Swallow it whole."_

 _Eddward gave him one last quick kiss on his lips, before going back down, and taking all of his still-erect penis into his mouth, in one go._

.

.

Kevin gasped when his eyes flashed open on his bed. He could immediately feel his heart pounding painstakingly fast, and went to sit-up in his bed when he noticed that one of his hands was holding on to his penis, under his blankets and sweatpants. He quickly took his hand out and moved aside the comforter sheets, and in the dimly-lit bedroom, he could see, clearly, that he had an erection.

His eyes widened. _No. Fucking._ _Way_ _!_

He wished it had been a trick of the moonlight coming from his open window, but as he touched the area, the twitching told him that he did, in fact, have an erection. However, it was not the erection that had him confused, but the reason why. He could not remember doing anything that could have led to this. He only ever got one during the night if he watched pornography right before going to sleep, and dreamt—

 _Edd!_

In the blink of an eye, his dream came back to him. He recollected going over to Eddward's home, being invited in, watching a movie, and then, finally, in the middle of the movie, him and Eddward talking and kissing, grinding and teasing, and then the very vivid imagery and sense of Eddward starting to give him a blowjob.

 _Holy shit!_ He thought, immensely surprised. _I can't fucking believe this! What the hell? What the_ _fucking hell_ _?!_

It was a sort of crisis to him that he had a sexual dream about Eddward — especially after declaring, once again, that he did not see Eddward sexually attractive. Which he did not— he had thought. Eddward to him had been good looking, yes, and had very cute reactions, but he had never seen Eddward as a potential sexual partner — not until… not until Marie had mentioned Eddward's sexuality… which had gotten him thinking…

 _Fuck…_

Marie's mentioning of Eddward not finding men or women or anyone else sexually attractive, had made him curious. It made no sense to him. How could someone not find anyone sexually attractive? Especially after he, surely, had to have had sex with his girlfriend? This had been the catalyst to him thinking about Eddward and sex. What had he done with Marie? Had he liked it? Hated it? However, thinking about Eddward and Marie had started to make his stomach twist, and so he had switched to thinking about just Eddward. He imagined what Eddward's sexual preferences may have been. What he would have liked to do, or had already done. Would he have liked the same things he did? Did they share the same favorite position? Use the same condom brand? Then, before he had known it, his thinking of Eddward and sex, only, had turned into him thinking about him with Eddward and sex — it had been his last thought before going to sleep, which surely had to have resulted in the dream.

Not just the dream, but also his grip on his penis at that very moment, as he summarized everything he had thought about under the umbrella topics of "Eddward" and "sex". He had already been erect, and going down a checklist of the topics — having those thoughts and imaginings come back to him — had been like adding wood to the fire, and now his erection was more prominent; and as he knew, required his attention.

He went to his bathroom to do it. As nice and comfortable that jerking off in his room was, he had learned from the past, several times, that cleaning up after was the most uncomfortable thing ever. Now, whenever he needed to get rid of "morning wood" or a quick release after some weeks, he would go to his bathroom — turn on the lights, close and lock the door, lift the toilet seat up, and pull down both his sweatpants and briefs.

His usual rhythm had always started slow, which increasingly built up as he got closer; but, at that time, he was quick with his strokes from the beginning. He pulled at his penis harder than he ever usually did, or had ever had anyone do to him, as he was desperate for release. No. Not just that. It was because in his mind, he imagined himself back at Eddward's house, leaning on the couch, with Eddward giving him the blowjob. He felt Eddward to be the merciless type when it came to those things; quick and precise, just like he normally was. He tried to match with his hand the speed he imagined Eddward's head would go at. He wished he had brought along his fleshlight then, too, to get some of the wetness and suction that he was getting in his close-eyed daydreaming, as he was in his reality.

Finally, he gave one last tug and semen spewed from his urethra. He groaned; pressing his forehead on the cold tile above of the toilet; his hand still on his penis to keep it aimed at the toilet bowl. Daydream Eddward swallowed it all down, just like he had asked of him earlier, and licked his lips before giving a satisfied smirk. When it was over, he was gasping, sweating, and felt sick to his stomach.

The vision of the daydream and Daydream Eddward went away. With it gone, he was left with what its past existence entailed. He could not believe that he viewed Eddward as a sexual partner.

* * *

First yaoi sex scene! (Almost.) Yay! I thought this would be a fitting time to add one into the story. As you can tell, I'm not one of those writers that uses replacement words for anatomical parts. If you can't handle "penis" over "member" or "thing", then... too bad.

Next Chapter: The morning after (so like, a couple hours after Kevin woke-up to jerk himself off to the vision of Daydream Eddward).

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	14. 14 out of 46

Last chapter was fun— right, right? Don't you think this one will be fun too— _right, right_?

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _14/46_

* * *

 **#1**

His first hurdle of the day came only mere minutes after he finished his business in the bathroom, at 3am. He washed his hands and his face, and headed back to his bedroom feeling… some odd sense of refreshment and security. Do not get him wrong — he _was_ entirely aghast by the fact that he saw Eddward — a _male_ — as a sexual partner; especially enough to have a very, very vivid dream about the two of them having sex. One good enough, even, that he had felt the urge to continue it — to finish it — as he masturbated in the bathroom.

This was entirely new ground for him as he had never had that experience with a male in his mind, before; but he was able to keep his thoughts together enough to realize that no good would come if he tried to deal with that issue at just past 3am.

 _I'll sleep for the next three hours and then… figure some shit out later — I'll leave my problem to tomorrow's me._ He thought.

Back in his bedroom, he sunk down onto his bed. Despite the warmth that he often felt after a good orgasm — whether induced by himself or another — he still felt cold, and wrapped his comforter over his body once more. He hit his pillow a few times to re-fluff it, sunk his head down on it, closed his eyes, and tried to match his breathing to how it felt when he was asleep.

Except—

Every time he attempted to sleep, his mind immediately went back to the sexual fantasy he had of Eddward. He would close his eyes for but a second, and almost immediately, see the last shot of the "scene" — Eddward licking his lips and smirking after swallowing down all of his semen, leaving not a drop behind. Not only that, but on more than one occasion, his mind would replay the "movie" of the sexual fantasy at different timeframes; sometimes it would start from the beginning when he knocked at Eddward's door, and other times, at the grinding session when he pulled up Eddward's salmon-colored, knitted sweatshirt, and kissed and licked and sucked at his pink nipples.

He groaned into his pillow as he felt a new erection starting to form and pressing uncomfortably on his mattress as he laid on his stomach to try and stop it. He could already tell that it would be a long night.

.

.

 **#2**

The second round of torture — "hurdle", as he will call it — came some hours after the first. After a long night of struggling to manage the erection that seemed permanent, it was finally time for him to awake, and take control of his day. He got up from bed as he normally would — the erection gone and him overly-conscious of not thinking or doing about anything that would trigger it — and then went to the bathroom. Despite it being his usual time, Lacey and Trix were not yet awake and had not made it upstairs by the time he grabbed his bath towel from his room, and locked the bathroom door behind him.

He bathed, brushed his teeth, and then dried himself off and put on a fresh set of clothes. Lacey and Trix woke up around this time, and he smiled and pat the two dogs on their heads as they greeted one another like always.

"You guys ready to go for a walk?" He asked them; and was answered by their happy barks and small leaps of joy. They ran in front of him as they all went down the stairs to the first floor, where their leashes lay in wait at the kitchen, hanging above their empty food bowls. While they got those, he put on his jacket, knowing that like yesterday, today was bound to have some chilly weather. The two girls ran back into the hallway where the coat closet was with the leashes in their mouths, he hooked them on them, and then they all exited the house for their routine walks.

As usual, they exited the cul-de-sac and headed to the park, where they ran and played, before making their way back to their home.

"Hey Kevin." Waiting for him at his front door, was Nazz. She was fully dressed for school with a cream-colored overcoat on for protection from the cold, holding the tote bag that she used as her backpack, in her hands. She gave him a smile that widened as they got close, and Lacey and Trix — who had fuzzy memories of Nazz, he was sure — greeted her with the same interest and care they greeted almost everyone. "Hi!" Nazz's voice almost immediately took the form of baby-talk. "And how are you two doing today? Is Kevin treating you well? Oh you both have gotten so, so big!" She patted and rubbed their heads and ruffled their ears and stroked their tummies — all things they both knew they liked from when he got them as puppies about two years back. Nazz had been with him when he saw them both at the animal shelter, where she had been volunteering back then and he went to help out; and even helped him to take care of them for the first few weeks before he got the hang of it. When they became busy with their lives, Nazz stopped coming over and Lacey and Trix no longer saw her, but it did not look as though that meant that they had forgotten about her.

"You've been doing a good job raising them, Kevin." Nazz said, still bent down a bit and rubbing at both of their backs. "Their coats are beautiful and their noses are wet. And they look so healthy and happy."

"Thanks." He said, smiling. He was always glad to hear good things when it came to his Pit Bulls. "They're both a handful, but… their company more than makes up for it." Raising a dog, in itself, was not an easy task — and when they're two fully-grown Pit Bulls with lots of love and energy to give, the task quickly becomes one of the hardest and best things in the world. He found taking care of his two girls to be his favorite chore.

"Can we go in, though? It's kind of cold and this weather isn't good for them. Their coats aren't that thick to begin with." Nazz said, standing to her feet and grabbing her large, black leather tote bag with the _Hello Kitty_ bow decal on it.

"Ah, yeah. I forgot." He quickly moved forward and took out his keys to unlock the door. Once unlocked, he let Lacey and Trix loose into his house, before he and Nazz both stepped in; he held the door for her.

"Why thank you." She said with a smile.

He grinned. "You're welcome."

He closed the door behind him and then went about taking off his jacket and taking Nazz's overcoat, before putting both items on the coat rack that was there, next to the coat closet; his dad had bought the rack after he complained about how hard it was to get the coat out of the closet. (Yet, still his father put his coat away in the coat closet every night after he came home, despite his numerous complaints.)

He and Nazz followed Lacey and Trix to the kitchen.

"So… not to sound forgetful or anything," he said, speaking to Nazz, while he went into the cupboard to get the dry dog food for the girls, "And it's not like I hate it, either, but… why are you here again, Nazz?" He asked her.

Sitting at the kitchen island, Nazz frowned at him with pouty, glossy-pink lips. "Honestly Kevin, don't tell me you forgot." She said.

"Concept: Let's say I did, for a moment — what would your response be?" He asked her whilst scooping in some food into Lacey's bowl. Lacey's white bowl sat next to Trix's bright green bowl, on an elevated platform that made it easier and safer for both dogs to eat. The same was with their water bowls, which were next to their food bowls.

Nazz sighed. "You promised me a few weeks ago that I'd get to ride your motorcycle with you someday, Kevin." She said. "We settled on it today because I don't have any late after-school activities, and don't have to take Johnny to school." She said with a smile.

It came back to him. "Right…" He said, stretching out the word and nodding his head along. "Right, right. Now I remember."

" _Right_." Nazz said, clearly mocking him with a playful grin on her face. He looked up at her for a brief moment, but she just continued to give a wide smile that pulled her cheeks up and back, with her head resting atop a net of her folded fingers, and her elbows on the table. He rolled his eyes and she began to laugh. He went to put the dog food bag away, with Lacey and Trix replacing the space he had taken-up in front of their bowls, to eat.

"Why do you do that by the way?" He asked as he closed the cupboard where the food was, and went to the fridge to get one of the plastic pitchers of water they had inside. "Take Johnny to school, that is."

"Johnny's a friend. He doesn't have a car or a bike, and you know how the bus is. Our schedules usually fit perfectly with one another, so there's never been a problem driving him to and from school — and he always gives me gas money, too, which is nice."

"Ah. Okay." He said. He poured some of the water from the pitcher and into the two separate tin water bowls while the girls still ate. He then went to put the pitcher back into the fridge. "What time is it?" He asked.

"Seven thirty-six." Nazz responded. "If we want to make it to school on time, we should leave before forty-five."

"Sweet. I have time to get something to eat." He said; smiling and rubbing his hands together as he made his way over to the pantry in the kitchen.

"Not McDonald's again, I hope." Nazz said. "I don't know how you can eat that stuff. It's nothing compared to Burger King."

Kevin snorted. "Yeah, right." He said, opening the pantry and aiming for the box of unopened strawberry _Pop-Tarts_. "McDonald's is like the king of fast food. I don't see Burger King or Wendy's with any indoor playgrounds."

"Oh whatever. At least our fries aren't like 80% salt."

" _You're_ 80% salt, Nazz." He joked, giving a chuckle. Nazz scoffed at him but then joined in on the laughter. "Did you eat breakfast already, though?"

"Yeah. I made myself an omelet."

"I'm making _Pop-Tarts_!" He exclaimed with the vigor and excitement of a child as he put two on a plate and put them into the toaster oven.

Nazz laughed. "I can see that. Strawberry?"

"You already know."

When the _Pop-Tarts_ were done, he ate them as he continued conversing with Nazz. They talked school and upcoming tests and events both on and off campus, and he even joked with Nazz about getting the veteran cheerleaders who would be leaving the squad after that season — her included — extremely small mini-mini-skirts as part of the personalized uniform mementoes they gave the graduating seniors of a sports club, every year.

She rolled her eyes. "If I do that, then you and the rest of your graduating team members are gonna get crop top jerseys and _tight_ -tights as your memento." She said with a smirk on her lips; hoping to get a rise out of him.

"Hey. I have a great body. You'd be doing me a service helping me show it off more." He said with a grin and a wink. This earned a loud laugh from Nazz, and a couple (he assumed happy) barks from Lacey and Trix.

He finished up eating and then finished up his business in his house with washing the one dish he used, and then washing out the girls' food and water bowls. Then he made sure the back door to the backyard was locked so Lacey and Trix could not get out while he was gone; he even did a quick check upstairs that all the doors and windows were closed, before checking the downstairs windows, too.

"I don't want them getting out or anything while I'm gone." He told Nazz when he finished checking the last window, after seeing the confused look she gave him.

"Isn't your dad here?" She asked, tote bag in hand, while she waited for him.

"Yeah, but he's usually sleeping. And I don't want him feeling guilty or anything that they got out while he rested."

"You're a good son, Kevin." She said. He tried to hide the small blush that arose on his cheeks when she said this.

"…Thanks."

He and Nazz then put on their respective outerwear, and after one last interaction with the two beloved Pit Bulls, they exited his home and he locked the door. They headed to his garage door, which he unlocked and had risen with the control he had attached to his key chain.

"I remember when you and your dad were putting up that automatic door." Nazz said to him. "You guys were having trouble and then asked the Eds to help since they were always building things."

He tried not to flinch at the mention of the Eds — at the mention of Eddward — and instead attempted to play things out as normal as he possibly could.

"Y-yeah." He said. "It was a pain to ask and work with them, but… They did end up getting the job done. Although it was mostly Double-D who did anything worth mentioning…" He could not help briefly thinking back to that time. He remembered regretting asking for their help in the first place, when all Ed and Eddy did were mess around and look for jawbreakers. It was Eddward who got a grasp of the situation and organized them enough to get the job done, in the end. He could feel something within him stir at the memory.

"Eddward is always such a big help." Nazz said, probably being the only person besides the adults in their world who referred to Eddward by his full name. "In student government, he's like a glue keeping me and others from falling apart. He was a major help executing Homecoming. He did, like, a little bit of everything."

"He's in student government with you?" He asked her, going to where a motorcycle helmet he only ever used when the weather was obtrusive to his vision (and his dad was not awake to stop him from riding his motorcycle to school) rested on a hook. While he never really wore a helmet, he was certain that Nazz was the type to always, always wear one.

"He's my vice president." Nazz said, taking the black helmet he handed to her and giving him her tote bag. "Has been since I was voted president, last year."

"Ah. I didn't know that. I didn't really think he was in any clubs besides track."

"Well do you talk to Eddward much at all?" She asked him, putting the helmet on her head. It was a good think Nazz had short, pixie-cut hair because if she had had anything else, the helmet was sure to flatten out her hairstyle. It looked a bit big on her, though, and he worked to adjust the straps and fix it for her.

At her question, he contemplated how to answer. He did not talk to Eddward every day, but he certainly had been talking to him more than usual for the past couple of days — maybe no more after his confrontation with Marie the day before. After all, he had only gone to speak to her to get answers on why, again, was Eddward avoiding him after he swore that he would not run away from him. Now Marie had vowed to keep Eddward away from him at all costs.

"…Not really." He ended up saying.

"Well that's why." Nazz responded. After the helmet was on her head nice and tight, he went to sit on the motorcycle. Both his backpack and Nazz's tote bag went to rest on his lap. Almost immediately, Nazz said, "Whoa. Where's your helmet, Kevin?"

"My helmet?" He asked.

"Yeah. The one _you're_ going to be wearing?"

He chuckled. "Come on, Nazz. You know I like never wear a helmet."

"Yeah. But I always thought that was because you didn't have one — but now I see that you _do_. Is there another? You really should be wearing a helmet, Kevin. It's not safe to operate a motorcycle without one."

At the oh-so-familiar tone of concern, he, without thinking, said, "Calm down, Edd. It's no big deal."

"…Ed?"

"Huh?"

"You said 'Ed'. No wait. It probably wasn't 'Ed', but… 'Edd'? 'Eddward'? Did you just call me 'Eddward'?"

"What are you talking about, Nazz?" He asked her, still sitting on his bike and sitting with a confused expression on her face. While the mention of Eddward had him on high alert, he could not comprehend why she was saying what she was saying.

"Just now you said, 'Calm down, Edd. It's no big deal'." His eyes widened, and he felt his heart plunge down to his stomach for a moment. A feeling of helplessness overcame him as he watched her raise one perfectly tweaked eyebrow, and cross her arms over her chest. Her teal gaze felt weighted on him. "Kevin, is there something you're not telling me? Are you and Eddward… _friends_?"

He tried not to look particularly perturbed or flushed at the way in which she said 'friends', when he gave his response. "F-friends? Edd and me? Nah. We… we don't really get along like that anymore." He felt a bit sick to his stomach saying that. _Not anymore or_ _ever_ _again,_ he could not help but think.

"Really?" Nazz asked. "That's a bit… surprising. You two looked like you had the potential to be best friends when he tutored you."

He held back a flinch at the memories that popped up. "…Things change."

"Mmm…" Nazz looked a bit visibly upset — or curious — but pushed this away as she went back to her usual, smiling self; putting him at ease that he would not be pressured on the unpleasant topic anymore. "…I still can't believe you don't have a second helmet, Kevin." She said as she began to walk over to his motorcycle. "I know what I'm getting you for Christmas this year."

"I'll try to act surprised, then."

.

.

 **#3**

The motorcycle ride to school had been very awkward for him. Nazz was holding him tight around the waist, and had her hands laced onto the straps of his backpack and her tote bag, to keep the items in place as he focused on driving. He kept his eyes on the road — purposely trying to forget Nazz's presence. It was not that he found driving her to school to be as any sort of inconvenience, but rather, that Nazz was too… _similar_. Her floral smell and petite figure pressed against him, made his eye on reality go blind for a split second, as he unintentionally thought back to the aggravating sexual fantasy. He could _just_ see Eddward under him—

"Kevin, stop! Red light! _Red light_!"

He almost skidded into the side of the road as his mind and eyes came into focus on it. He saw himself and Nazz dangerously close to going into oncoming traffic that was not in their favor on the four-way intersection, and he felt his body immediately dope itself on adrenaline as he forcefully slowed his motorcycle down. It was a strain on his leg, as he had it hitting the pavement from one side and trying to get a grip on the concrete; during this, he was painfully aware of Nazz yelping behind him, into his ear, as he burned a trail of tire marks behind him. When the world came to a halt and he found his motorcycle parallel to the horizontal road they almost drove into, just barely a foot before the traffic light above them, he breathed heavily trying to collect himself. He turned around a bit to ask, "Nazz?! A-are you okay?!"

It took some time for Nazz to respond. His heart pounded. While he could feel her arms still around his waist, and her front against his back, he, for but a moment, believed Nazz to have fallen off of his motorcycle during the jerky stop. He had thought she was on the ground under a wheel, or something similar.

"I'm fine…" She finally said; causing him to release a breath of fright that he did not know he had been holding, when he felt her warm breath tickling the back of his neck. "I'm fine." She said again. "I'm fine." It was as though she could not believe it, herself.

 _Jesus-fucking-_ _Christ_ _!_

"Oh thank _god_." He said, leaning forward on the handlebars. "I thought— oh shit fuck. _I thought_ —!" He could not finish. His heart was still pounding in his ears, and he could feel a massive, thick and opaque bubble of guilt growing in his stomach.

 _Fuck—_ _fuck_ _. I almost got Nazz and me—! All because—!_ _Fuck_ _!_

Nazz seemed to sense that he was taking it much harder than he likely should have — or perhaps, just as bad as he should have been, which was awful in its own right — for she said, "It's okay, Kevin,"—her voice soft and specifically made, he felt, to keep the peace and calm worries—"It's all okay. We're fine, after all. We're still breathing. No harm done."

He felt the urge to slam his fit into the space between the handlebars of his motorcycle. An enraged fist that came up, but never came down — not like he had wanted. Instead, it buried itself under his hat and into his hair (who knows how his hat managed to stay on through all that), and pulled at the orange clumps of hair. He let out an infuriated groan between his teeth.

"Shit… _shit_! Fucking dammit. I— _fuck_!" He mumbled curses and lectures at himself under his voice. He hoped no one could hear him, but knew that Nazz likely did. Around him, cars started to honk; they were taking up an entire lane. He tried to keep his cool and gather himself and not let the endless honks get to him, but in the end, he turned around and yelled, " _Just fucking go around you bunch of shitheads_! _Don't you see we almost fucking_ _died_ _just now_?!" The cars honked, but sure enough, the people started to go around him. They would traverse on that lane until they came across him and followed the pattern of cars that blended into the other lane and continued on their way doing that.

His head was buried in his arms, which were crossed over the front of his motorcycle. He took deep breaths. His heart was still pounding; he felt himself on the verge of tears; he could not believe what he had almost let happen; and all because he left himself get distracted by a… _dream_. He did a sharp intake of breath, his shoulders taking.

 _Fuck this, man… fuck this…_

"Kevin…" The gentle hand on his shoulder was like a firm slap to the face, bringing him back to reality. He zeroed-in on the unseen Nazz behind him, who had still clearly not gotten off of the motorcycle, nor removed her other hand with their school materials in them, from his waist. "Are you—"

Before she could ask him if he was okay, he sat up. He straightened his spine and forced himself to say, "Hold on, Nazz," before revving his motorcycle up once again. He would not give her a chance to ask if he was okay, he felt; because he knew that if she did, he would likely have a breakdown. Right now, he would focus on getting her to school, and then… and then he would deal with everything else on his own, later.

The third hurdle had been the most deadly.

.

.

 **#4**

At the school, he found the fourth hurdle to be Nazz.

When he pulled into the school's unofficial student parking lot next to both the library and the athletics center, he had expected — _wanted_ — Nazz to get off immediately, say some words, and then go on with her day. He came to an initial horizontal stop parallel to the sidewalk for this very reason, as he wanted a platform for Nazz to safely get off, before he headed to his usual parking spot, some distance away. However, Nazz did not get off of the motorcycle when he temporarily stopped it. While her hands came undone from his waist, she made no physical movements to leave.

"…You can get off now. Class is about to start, you know."

"I'm not leaving, Kevin." She said to him, firmly from the very beginning. "Not until I know you're… stable."

"I'm fine." He said quickly, his tone clipped. "Now go. Class—"

"Screw class. Kevin. You almost ran us into oncoming _traffic_. You're the type to not wear a helmet, but that doesn't mean you're an irresponsible driver. You're too focused for that… What happened back there?"

His knuckles started to go white as he tightened his grip on the handlebars. He could almost hear his teeth grind against one another.

" _Nothing_. I just… got distracted. Now go to—"

"Don't you dare try to lie to me, Kevin Barr. I _know_ you and I know what you look and sound like when you're troubled, and lying. And while I would normally let something like this go, today is not the day to do so. I've never seen you at this extent. I'm worried, and I know something is _terribly_ wrong." (Sometimes he hated Nazz's attentive and assertive qualities. While he would often praise them when they were directed at someone or something else, as she was using them on him now, he scorned these aspects of hers. They were making getting out of the situation cleanly, very difficult.)

"Nazz—"

"Kev."

" _Inez_ —"

" _Kevin_."

He could feel that there was no victory or peace in sight for him. He sighed heavily; deeply; forlornly.

"…We'll skip first, then." He finally said.

"We can stay at the library. It's open and it's not so unusual for students to be there throughout the school day."

"The library, huh?" He said in a low tone, moving his hands a bit on the handlebars as his eyes glazed over in nostalgia. "That's a good place to go. It… kinda started all of this, after all."

* * *

A fun chapter indeed, _**right**_?

Next Chapter: Eddward's had his time to vent to his friends. Now it's Kevin's turn for some much-needed therapy.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	15. 15 out of 46

Yes, yes. This story is now officially out of hiatus. Forgive me for updating it two days later than when I said I would start it back up again, but... um... Okay. There is no way around it. I got distracted watching/playing video games. The _God of War_ franchise (among many other smaller games — _Unravel_ , just to name one) is just... Sigh. Moving on. I managed to get a nice amount of chapters done, and even reworked the remaining plot to make it something more... suitable to my tastes. Take that as you may.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

15/46

* * *

He had not been back to the library since the last day he and Eddward had studied there together, the summer of his freshman-technically-not-yet-sophomore year. He remembered the day quite fondly, too, actually; it had been right before his last examination for summer school. He and Eddward had spent the whole day in the stuffy library, fighting back the intense warmth and discomfort with small battery-operated fans that were sold at the local drug store (not the ones with candy accompaniments, for those had been proven to be too small), as well as bottles of water that Eddward constantly kept standing up and going to refill at the library's only water fountain. Not to mention, Eddward had kept him fed and offered snack breaks outside in a more open space, so as not to be driven mad by the never-changing scenery in the building. He remembered telling Eddward that he did not have to dote on him so much, and the young man responding by saying that he needed all the time in the world to study for the big test that next day, and should not be distracted by such menial tasks.

" _I w-will not let you get up from that chair for anything other than to relax. W-wuh-which, as you know, is necessary to properly study and not feel overwhelmed. No. You will stay there and finish the review — let me do everything else… please. I want you to succeed…"_

He smirked at the memories as he took the very seat he had been in that faithful day; those long, stressful, fun months. The third table in the first of the two-row horizontal set-up the library had on the first floor; flanked on one side by a wall of large windows for natural light, and on the other by perpendicular, large, wooden bookshelves. The tables, themselves, were placed parallel to the shelves, and sat up to six people with the seating that was already there. He sat on the left side of the table, the chair closest to the windows side. Nazz sat across from him, in the chair that Eddward had always sat in.

He took a moment to look around. The library both looked and felt the same; which was odd, for he knew that he had felt haunted by it in the past couple of years, each time he passed it or went near it when he headed to the athletics building. The library to him had been both a beginning and an end — and something that he would admit to wanting to relive.

 _What was the name of that book again?_ He thought, looking around and hoping that he could spot the shelf that Eddward had pulled the book out from, where he had described the main character's romantic dilemma as wanting to bring the past into the present. _'The Great'… 'Gastro'?_

"Something the matter, Kevin?" Nazz asked him. He brought his attention back on her, and saw that she had removed her overcoat and placed both her purse and the helmet he had lent her, on the chair to her side. He could understand why; the library was always warm, even though he could never spot the heating system that kept the two-floor building at around 70 or 80-degrees.

"Yeah. I was just… wondering about the name of this one book Edd talked about when we used to come here…" He found himself saying the words with little to no hesitancy. It was like an out-of-body experience where the negative emotions that he knew were welling up in him and continuing to beat him down after what he had almost done to both himself and Nazz not ten minutes ago, were not able to reach him. He wondered why he felt that way, but was certain that for whatever reason, it was connected to the familiar position he was in. The lovely nostalgia of it probably had him reverting to his 14/15-year old self.

"What book?" Nazz asked.

"It was… I can't remember the name. But it was about some rich guy that wanted to hook back up with his past love or something."

"How specific," Nazz joked.

" _The Great_ -something," he said.

"Ah. _The Great Gatsby_?"

"Yeah, yeah. That was it." He said; fully giving Nazz his attention and being able to keep it there, instead of letting his eyes wander back to the shelves like had happened a few moments earlier. " _The Great Gatsby_. Edd talked about that book one time when we came here. He had donated it to the library and found it in the shelves while he was waiting for me. He said he recognized it was his because of how the pages were worn."

"Eddward is always so attentive to detail. Combined with his elephant's memory, he's like a human storage drive."

"Yeah. He's amazing…"

There was a moment of silence.

"Kevin, are you…" Nazz started. Looking at her, he saw her face to be very contemplative; her eyebrows furrowed; her lips in a firm line; her teal eyes like wavering steel, showing her hesitancy. It was clear to him that she was trying to choose her words correctly. She sighed. "I may as well come right out and say it… Do you like Eddward?"

He sighed deeply. Now there was the question of the hour— no. Not quite _hour_. How long had he been plagued by it? Since he first kissed Eddward? Yes. Probably. So not the question of the hour, but the _question of the past three years_.

"Honestly, Nazz… I think I do." He said. "I didn't think I did. I really didn't. I just thought… Okay. Look. Let me just start by telling you why I almost… killed us today."

"Kevin. I know that was an accident. You were distracted and came out of it in time. There was nothing purposeful behind it, so please don't refer to it as though it was your _goal_ to do that. You're obviously—"

"Fucked in the head? Yeah. I am." He said, interrupting her. He went to take off his red snapback and played with it in his hands, on the table. His eyes stayed on that. There was silence, again.

(—He knew that right there and then, in the library, he was at a critical moment. Nay, he had passed the critical moment when he admitted, openly, to liking Eddward; and on a romantic level, too. He knew that that was what he had meant. He liked Eddward in the same way he had liked Nazz before. There was no longer denying it, even if the implications did scare him—)

"I've never liked a guy before, ya know. I've only ever gone after girls. And I don't even see Edd on the same level as girls. I don't even see _other guys_ on the same level as Edd. It's him. It's just him. I just like him. And it's weird and has my head all sorts of fucked up. It's so fucked up that I'm not even scared to admit it right now because— _dammit I almost got us killed over it_. I spaced-out on my motorcycle because I was thinking about Edd. I've been thinking about him _all day_ for the past… like two weeks. Since before the Homecoming game."

"What happened between you and him, Kevin?" She asked. "I know that liking someone can lead to thinking about them a lot, but… I have a feeling that there's more to this story than you're letting on. Can you tell me? Getting it all out might just help you…"

He did not have to even think about it for a moment before saying, "When Edd was helping me get my shit together freshman year, he helped me out with more than just my grades. You… had probably been able to tell even though I never told you, but I was really depressed that year. Like, _really_ depressed. I was going through a lot, mentally, and didn't know how to handle it — and when my grades started to slip, it was just one more nail in my coffin. I acted like I didn't care, but it hurt me _a lot_. It really messed me up. And then with how my dad reacted to it and everything…? Nazz, freshman year was hell for me. Nothing seemed to be going right and it just made me feel worse and worse. I just…" He paused. Stopped. Recollected himself. Breathed. Went on. "Then Edd got mixed into it. At first, I really hated how he was shoved into the situation without my consent. Everything already seemed to be out of my control and more people kept getting involved without my say, and it made me feel even shittier. I was so _angry_. Not at Edd, but at myself and the whole thing. I wanted everything to go away, but my dad and the guidance counselor wouldn't let it. Despite what I said, they wouldn't let it go and constantly kept shoving in my face that I was messing up— at least, that's how it felt. And then… and then, Edd… he… he wasn't what I expected."

" _Nazz_ ," he said, looking up to meet her teal eyes. The way he had said her name was different than before. It was breathier, like a gasp of air after being underwater for a long time. He supposed that was how he had felt back in freshman year; like he was drowning. Until Eddward came in, he had been drowning — _sinking_. "Nazz, he… I think he had gone through stuff like that before. Because he helped me out a lot. He listened to my problems. He let me speak. He was always quiet, and only spoke when I stopped speaking. And the advice he gave… worked. Honestly, though, it probably wasn't even the advice, specifically, that was helping me out. It was probably just that someone was finally listening to me about all that stuff, and trying to conform to what _I_ needed and now what _they_ thought I needed. He did help me out with my coursework, obviously, but, it was like he said — that was just the _result_ of my situation, and he focused more on tackling the _cause_. He would let me call him in the middle of the night to talk about my problems. He would let me come over — even at 3am just to talk if I was overwhelmed. Then, he started to call me on his own and check up on me. Every day at the start of the tutoring sessions, he would ask me how I was doing. When we would pass each other in the hallway, he would smile at me like he was trying to encourage me. He would calm me down. He would give me a lot of advice that actually helped me out. He just… did a lot of small things that were more meaningful to me than I thought they were, at the time. I knew they meant a lot back then, but I didn't know that they meant this much to me. That's what made the difference. That's what really saved me. I think that's what has me like this. He's left an impact on me. And it's grown into _liking_ him."

"To be honest with you, I've already… sort of told both him and Marie how I feel about him. With Edd, I've talked to him a few times this year about this — but the biggest one was the night of Homecoming. I told him outright that I wanted to be with him, even though I didn't know — and I'm still not 100% about — what that means. I told him… Honestly? I can't even remember what I said, specifically. But I do remember him crying. And him saying that he doesn't want to hear those types of things. That they're scary. He flinched when I tried to touch him…"

"I've kissed him before, actually. Twice. The first time was the day I got my summer school report card. Immediately after I got it and saw that I had gotten all the credits, I rushed to his house to tell him. He started crying then. I was freaked out. But it wasn't like how he started to cry at Homecoming. He was happy that I had passed. Nazz, he told me that he was scared that I wouldn't and kept trying to figure out ways to let me get all the credits I needed because every time he tried to do the calculations, they didn't come out as me moving forward. So he'd been scared. But when I showed him the report card, he was so relieved that he cried… And I ended up kissing him. He slammed the door in my face. I… actually think you remember that. Remember? I kept asking about Edd the beginning of sophomore year. I think you even tried to help me trap him at one point."

"I do remember that. You never told me why, though, until now. You just said that you really had to speak with him. I tried to get him to talk to you when he joined student government, but he avoided me that first year, too, and kept things strictly professional. I think he knew that you were asking for my help," she responded.

"Edd's too smart for his own good. He's quiet and observant, and can read people's faces. Sometimes I think he knows what I'm going to say to him before I even know, and that makes it hard to talk to him. I think he only ignores the things he doesn't want to see or hear."

"You know a lot about him."

"We don't talk much, but… those few months with him were enough to learn his habits. And we were really open when we spoke about ourselves. I know him, and yet at the same time, I know that I probably don't know as much as I think I do. Edd is just a lot to take in…"

"…What about the second time you kissed him?"

"Huh?"

"You said you already kissed him twice. Freshman year was the first time. When was the second?"

"Oh. Right. The second was actually back in September. It's what led to this since Edd and I didn't talk at all after sophomore year — technically freshman year, but you know what I mean, right?" She nodded. "When I kissed him this second time, honestly… it was out of nostalgia. It happened the day school got cancelled because of that huge storm. Edd had actually offered to drive me to school that morning, and we got stuck in traffic. I thought things would be weird between us, but he was pretty chill. Things felt like old times, again. I would joke, and he laughed. He looked calm and happy — like he could finally put up with me. I tried not to get my hopes up, but I guess I did. That was, after all, the first time we'd ever been with each other since freshman year, and it was going so well… But then school got cancelled and he drove me back home. I was just gonna run to my door, but he stepped out of his car with his umbrella and walked me to my house so I wouldn't get anymore wet. My shoulder was jacked up at that point, and I kinda messed it up when I went to get my keys from my backpack, and almost fell to the floor. He was so worried about me, Nazz. I joked about. I was like, _'What? Are you worried about me or something?'_ And he was so serious when he said he was. I had thought… I thought he hated me, before that. I seriously thought he wouldn't ever care about me again after what happened with the first kiss. I was just… so happy when he said that. I kissed him. I don't know what I wanted from it, but I know that I wanted to kiss him. And so I did. And he… pulled away and then left."

"He didn't speak to you for weeks, after, did he?" Nazz asked.

"Actually, we spoke the next day."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But not for good reasons. My dad asked Edd to take me to school again because I was wearing my cast. But Edd had to pick-up the Kanker sisters, and when we got there, Marie started bitching about how _I_ — like no kidding, she practically spat at me and kept glaring at me. All because I was in 'her' seat. She was like, _'It's_ _Kevin_ _.'_ Edd probably told her about the kiss and everything else. I got mad at her and pushed her, and then Lee tried to strangle me and Marie got in and closed the door. Edd came out to confront me. He had been ignoring me that entire ride and I was feeling shitty about it and pushing Marie. He didn't yell at me, but it felt that way. And then… I told him I liked him. He freaked out on me and tried to walk away and I wasn't ready for him to walk away, so I ended up pushing him against the hood of his car. I just wanted to talk. I didn't want him to turn his back on me. But next thing I know, before I can apologize to Edd, Lee has me slammed on the mud and I just wanna get away from them."

"That must've been awful." Nazz said; her voice sympathetic but her eyes without pity. "What happened after?"

"…I started to cry. I was so frustrated. I got my shit and left. Edd looked like he was starting to feel sorry for me when he saw that I had started to cry, but I shrugged him off. I didn't want to speak to him then. But after school, when you gave me a ride to work, I saw him there. Did you see him?"

"Yes. I did. I recognized his car and said hi to him before he went in. Did he confront you about that morning? You didn't look too upset when you came back out…"

"That was because I told him that I wasn't ready to talk yet. Like, that had happened just that morning. It was way too soon for me to see him. I was still pissed and dealing with having told him that I liked him. I wasn't even sure if I'd meant it then or just said it out of frustration. There was too much going on in my mind, and a… weird heart-to-heart with him then, was not what I needed. I told him that I knew that we needed to talk about our issues at one point, but that then wasn't the right time."

"Homecoming was." She said.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"You told him — or at least, you tried to explain everything to him and he responded negatively."

"He had me crying, Nazz. The way he reacted was too painful for me to see. But it didn't all end in a bad note. I guess… that somehow, we both managed to calm down after he started being more vocal with me. After all, in the majority of those situations, it was me pouring my heart out and everything. Me, confused, trying to sort things out for both him and myself. He'd only ever landed blow after blow on me, but never once took one himself. So I told him that he had to tell me why he was crying — because when he told me that he found me liking him to be a scary thought, I told him that he had to tell me why since it wasn't fair that I was the only one sharing. Anyways, he told me that he had dealt with a similar situation before. I'm guessing that someone confessed to him once before, and that things didn't turn out too well, or something."

"He was projecting that on you. The situation must've really hurt him, and he probably doesn't want to go through it again. Eddward's toughened up externally over the years, but inside, he's the same _Double-D_ we all knew as kids. A shy, mushy sweetheart that can be ruled by his emotions," Nazz said.

"Yeah. I noticed. It was like I was staring at the little kid I used to pick on, again," he admitted. "I hadn't really expected it. He's changed a lot, so it's kind of hard to see the parallels between him now and him then. But he's still… such a dork. Even though he has my mind fifty shades of fucked up, he's still the same dork as ever."

"Hm… I can see why you almost crashed, then," Nazz said, effectively bringing the conversation back to the main topic. Despite all the information that he had just fed her, she seemed to have kept her mind on the main point; meanwhile, he had actually forgotten what had brought them to that situation in the first place. Not permanently, but he had been so invested in detailing the events, that the motorcycle crash had been pushed to the side as a different set of problems and emotions broke through. "You have a lot on your mind, Kevin. This whole… Eddward thing seems like it's going to drive you crazy."

"Yeah, but… even with all that, that wasn't why I almost crashed my bike. Like, yeah, what I just told you was like the build-up for it. But the _actual_ thing wasn't thinking about all the Edd drama going on in my life. It was something… _else_."

At this, Nazz raised a masterfully penciled-in eyebrow at him. " _Something else_?"

He began to chew on his bottom lip. In his hands, he began to fiddle once more with his snapback. He had said a lot — he had admitted a lot, and knew that there was even more to say. However… telling Nazz, despite how long he had known her, that he had a sexual dream about Eddward that he had been unable to get out of his mind — and that he had almost killed them because he had thought about the dream again and got too… invested in it — he was unsure if he could do so. Saying that he had a crush on a guy was one thing, but thinking of that guy as a sexual partner was an entire situation on its own.

He sighed deeply.

"I really don't know how to tell you _why_ I almost crashed the motorcycle. I feel like… like it might be taken the wrong way."

"Really? Why?" Nazz asked him.

"Well… I told you I said I like him, right? And I do. But it's not… it's hard to explain. I told him that I didn't think of him in the way that I thought of girls. I _really_ find girls attractive and they're still my ideal sexual partner— but Edd…" He paused, trying to find the right words. "Edd is… _different_. I didn't really think of him as a sexual partner…"

"…Why do I feel like there is more to that sentence?" She asked. "The way you just said it — _'I didn't really think of him as a sexual partner…'_ — makes me think that… Something changed. _Something_."

"…There is. Look, I wouldn't call myself 'gay' or anything. I still haven't looked at another guy in the way I've sometimes done with Edd. Girls are my favorite — Edd is just an _exception_."

"You think of him as a sexual partner, don't you?" She asked.

"…Yeah. Last night I sort of…" He paused; his hand went to play with the hair at the back of his neck; rubbing at the skin underneath it and weaving the red locks through his fingers. His nervous indicator. "I… thought of him… like _that_."

It did not take long for Nazz to understand what he meant. " _Oh_." She said.

"I-it really messed me up. I had a hard time… dealing with it."

"Mmm… I see." She said. The tone to her voice told him that she found the situation to be amusing. Looking at her, he saw her leaning against her hand, which was propped by the elbow on the table. The action made her face pudgier as it squished her cheek, and made her elation at his words even more evident. "So what had you distracted earlier was thinking about Eddward in your bed?"

" _Nazz_." He said, a blush starting to watercolor itself on his face. He looked around at the few people in the library; hoping that anyone that he may have known or may know him — besides Nazz — was not there, nor overhead. He was happy to find that the few souls in the building within visible and audible distance did not fit into such criteria. "Don't be so… _loud_ about it."

"Kevin, I'm speaking lowly. Plus, you just told almost _all_ of the recent history between you and Eddward; saying that you liked him, _many times_. And you're worried about someone overhearing you say that you had a wet dream about him?"

"It's easy to cover-up liking someone. But not when it escalates past that."

"…Well, either way, I don't think you have anything to worry about someone overhearing. Or being embarrassed about it. I understand why you were so distracted though. Eddward has grown-up remarkably, hasn't he?" The way she smiled at him made him think that, at one point, she may have had feelings for Eddward. He could remember a few times in their childhood when Nazz had shown a preference for Eddward out of all the Eds, but, he had never seen it develop into anything. _Does she like him now?_ He was unable to stop himself from thinking.

"Nazz, do you—"

"Don't worry, Kevin," she said, knowing immediately where he was going, and interrupting him, "I don't have a crush on Eddward or anything. While I do like him, it's only really as a friend. However, that doesn't mean I'm blind." She said with a wink. He tried to smirk, to compliment her wink and help the mood get a bit lighter, but only managed a twitch of his lips. An awkward twitch.

"You look tired," she said, suddenly, "With all of this going on, Kevin, have you been getting sleep?"

"More or less. My schedule has been pretty normal, but yesterday was the exception. Because of… the dream, I wasn't able to get much rest," he admitted.

"You look like it," she said. "Although, really, it makes sense. A lot is going on in your life personally. Anyone would be overwhelmed by all of that." Her tone was once again sympathetic. "I think… you need to talk to Eddward one last time. Lay everything out. Sort things out between the two of you. Although, you probably know that already and have been trying—"

"And things just don't work out," he said, confirming her suspicions. "After the Homecoming thing, Edd stopped talking to me. Which really got to me more than the things that had happened before, because he _swore to me_ that he wouldn't run away from me anymore. Edd knows as much as I do that this… tension thing between us is a problem. And you're right Nazz, it _does_ need to be sorted out. But we haven't made any progress because, honestly, Edd keeps running away from me. He's never let me explain things fully — or, if he does, he ignores me right after. Which is what he did after the Homecoming talk. I haven't talked to him since that. And I've _tried_ to see what was wrong. I thought we were finally on the path to work things out and finally end all this drama and bullshit, but no. He's been ignoring me. If I try to talk to him during French, he ignores my existence. He dodges me in the hallways. It's like sophomore year all over again."

"So obviously, I'm pissed about it. And since I know Edd won't talk to me, I go to the next best thing — _Marie Kanker_."

"Why her and not the Eds?" Nazz asked. "Is this because of them dating sophomore year?"

"Yeah. Even after all that stuff that played out between them sophomore year, they still kiss each other like every morning or whatever."

"They do?"

"Yeah. Haven't you ever seen it?"

" _No_ , actually," she said. "I find that really surprising. Are they still dating, then? Or just… _really_ close?"

"I honestly don't know. All I know is that she was probably the only person other than Edd who would know why he was avoiding me. And Nazz, I was right. She knew why — hell, she was the _reason_ why. The same night after my Homecoming talk with him, Edd had called her and told her everything. And _she_ told him to avoid me. Edd wasn't gonna dodge me originally — she made him."

"That's harsh. Do you have any idea why she would do that?"

"She said…" His voice — his emotions — lowered themselves into something calmer and serious and contemplative. He thought back to everything that Marie had told him when he confronted her after their physical education class… "She said that… she wasn't going to let me hurt Edd anymore…"

" _Oh_."

"Yeah… I know I've only been talking about how I've been feeling lately, but… I'm sure that Edd's been dealing with a lot on his own side. And she's been there listening to all of it and is being protective of him, probably. I kind of understand where she's coming from. I mean… I'd probably do the same thing if I was in her shoes. But… I just wish she wasn't talking me down to Edd. She made it seem like I was playing some sort of game with him or something — like I was hurting him and myself because I thought it was _fun_. And all because I'm still confused about how I feel. Like I'm sorry I'm not secure about myself right now or whatever. I wish I was so this could all be easier to deal with — for both me and Edd — but sabotaging any chance of it _becoming_ easier just because you don't like how difficult it is, especially when you aren't really a part of it, is _bullshit_."

He sighed deeply; going to play with his fingers without his hat in between.

"Anyways, that's what happened yesterday. We talked then, after gym class. I kind of provoked her to, to be honest. We were playing soccer and I sort of called her out. And then she called me out. And a lot of things were said and done between us. I thought she was going to either strangle or bite me at a lot of points. And I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything if she did decide to do something. Marie is… stronger than me. She can kick my ass — I was kind of surprised she didn't, now that I think about it. Edd has one hell of a bodyguard… But… while it was happening… I think that — Nazz, I really think that the reason why Edd's been reacting to me the way he is, is because of Marie."

"What do you mean? I don't think you're talking about her… 'sabotaging' you, still, right?"

"No. Remember how I said earlier that Edd thought that me liking him was scary because he's been through something like that before?" Nazz nodded. "Well, I think, maybe, _Marie_ was 'that' person whom he'd gone through it with. Like, we all know Marie had been crushing on Edd for years before they even became 'friends'. I think that at one point she confessed, and then for whatever reason, they broke up — sophomore year happened, basically — but somehow recovered. And while things look all good now, I think what happened in between the break-up and reconciling, was what scarred him. When I kinda joked about it a bit, she pushed me against a wall and said that I didn't know what I was talking about. Nazz, she looked ready to cry when she said that to me. It really bothered me and I started to piece things together. Edd is like that because of how things went with Marie — I'm sure of it."

"…It would make sense."

"I know. But that makes things harder. Because it means that Marie and Edd have been through some _shit_ together and it makes it harder to bypass her to get to him. I really, _really_ wanna work things out with Edd. Not to, like, date him or anything, but just to… put my mind — and his — at ease. I want things to be set between us so we can move forward. Because right now we're in this slump and it's not doing us any favors — I almost crashed because of it, for god's sake. I just… I wanna be able to work through this with him. But I can't with him being so guarded internally, and Marie taking care of everything externally. It's impossible for me to get near him, and there're… so many things I need to ask him and I know he needs to ask me for us to get on with our lives. But… we can't. Not with how things are right now."

"God," he said, "I feel like my life is harder now than it was freshman year. I'm going through so much nonsense over _Edd_. I wonder if this is punishment for bullying him when we were kids…"

"Oh, Kevin, I really don't know what to say," Nazz told him, sitting up in her chair and frowning after everything that she had just heard. "I… Obviously, I want things to get better between you and Eddward. I just don't know how that could happen. You're absolutely right. You two are in a slump and _need_ to talk but _can't_ because of all the… walls and guards between the two of you, but that… that's just not okay. I almost want to lock you both in a closet so you could get together but…" She sighed deeply. He knew she held sincere concern for both him and Eddward, and the unpleasant situation between the two of them. She wanted to help, but it was like she was saying, there was no clear-cut way _to_ help; especially not with everything standing in between them.

"Just…" She started. "Can I ask you something?"

He felt a bit unnerved, but responded anyways with, "Yeah. Go ahead. What is it?"

"If you… if you got the chance to talk to Eddward, and were able to get past your current stalemate with him, what would you hope to happen? After everything you've told me, I'm sort of wondering what you're hoping the endgame will be. Do you… want to date him or…?" Her voice trailed off.

"I'm just gonna tell you what I told both Edd and Marie: I don't know. I really don't. I used to think that all I wanted was some sort of… friendship with him, or something, but after what happened last night, I really don't know. It could literally be anything at this point. He and I could end up enemies or… lovers. I just don't know — but I do want to figure it out. I gotta find a way to talk to Edd. I _really_ need to speak with him — I know that. And I know he knows it. But his past is holding him back." He sighed. "This is such a mess. I'm never gonna get any peace from it, am I?"

"Don't say that, Kevin," Nazz said; she reached out with her hand to grab onto one of his. It was more to get his full, undivided attention than to comfort him; but that did not mean that she neither gave, nor he did not find, any comfort in the action. "There has to be a way to get the two of you able to talk. I'm sure of it. But you can't give up on it just yet."

"I dunno Nazz. Maybe if I just stopped thinking about it, it'll go away? After all, that's what I did sophomore year and after that, I didn't really have any issues with Edd until this year. Maybe… just for a while, I should try and do the same thing he's doing?"

"That's not healthy, Kevin; especially not when the situation has escalated to what it currently is. It's affected you too much and has you losing sleep and concentration, and no matter how much you may think that forgetting about it is going to help, that won't make things better. The problem won't go away. It'll just make things between you and Eddward awkward again — sophomore year _all over again_. And do you really want that?"

"…No. Of course not, but… there's just _nothing else_ I can do. Not with how things are."

"Then we'll just have to change how things are; tackle it in another way."

" _We_?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. It looked like Nazz had been hoping that he would say that, because the smile that came across her face was brighter than before.

"If you are willing to accept my help, yes, _we_. I don't know exactly what it is that I can do, but… Eddward has Marie. It's only fair that you have someone on your team, too — and I'm worried about you, Kevin. I can't just turn away after seeing the effect that all of this has had on you…"

He thought about it for a moment. He moved the hand that was under Nazz's, to be on top of hers and take it into his; holding it.

"I'd appreciate the help, actually. I've already gotten you involved, anyways, and… you're smart. And you're closer to Edd than I am, what with being in student government with him and everything, so maybe… maybe you _can_ do something? Maybe you're exactly what I need to turn the tables on them both?" He said, this time managing a small smirk as he joked.

Nazz smiled back at him.

"Thanks, but, besides anything regarding student government, Eddward and I don't really talk often. We're on good terms and can hold a conversation, but don't expect me being able to do too much work on him or this situation. I want to help you out with it, yes, but I mainly want to support you to deal with everything and process it all. I want to give you someone to talk to more than anything — but I'll help in any other way I can, too."

He smiled at her in response. It was the first full smile of that entire conversation. "That doesn't matter. Well, I mean, it _does_ , but not the part where you think you won't be of much help. I think you can help me out a lot without even knowing you can. Especially since I _know_ you, Nazz. You being on my team is gonna help me out a lot — heck, it already has. You listening to me right now has been a big help… It means a lot to me that you did that."

While he could not see it because he had gotten a bit embarrassed saying that to her, and had lowered his head, he was certain that Nazz was smiling even wider at his comment. He was very sure of it. It just seemed like the proper Nazz thing to do.

He gave a sigh.

"Nazz…?"

"Yes, Kevin?"

"Take good care of me, okay? I'm in your hands."

Nazz giggled. He looked up to see a playful smile on her face, which in turn, made him give his own playful grin. "Now _there's_ a nostalgic phrase."

* * *

I enjoy this chapter because it is a nice way to recap all that has happened up until this point — especially after this hiatus — and at the same time set-up what will be going on in future chapters. Also, adding Nazz as a supporting party is also something I am happy to have been able to work in — especially for Kevin, who desperately needs that type of support at this point in the story. He will also need it even more so in the future.

Next Chapter: From Eddward to Kevin to Eddward again. Truthfully, it is the penultimate to a _big_ change in the story.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	16. 16 out of 46

A very early morning update in the hopes that it will make up for the extremely late submission of the last chapter. The content, too, I hope will keep you all satisfied. Also, off topic, I am so excited for the new _Steven Universe_ episodes this summer '16. Have some of you seen the spoilers for it? It really has me nervous, because the trailer for the event and the spoilers do not match in mood or tone _at all_...

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _16/46_

* * *

The majority of that week, he had been alone. It was a busy week in Peach Creek High — it seemed as though everything from oral presentations to unit exams was due or given each day of that week. It led his friend group to divide itself more than usual as they all focused on getting their separate projects and materials done — no one could afford to be distracted, after all. However, that did not mean that his relatively quiet week did not have his time overlapping with that of his friends. On more than one occasion, he had been asked by them to help study; and there was never not one other person who needed to study that same material. He had given group study sessions both at the school's library, his house, or someone else's home, almost every day that week.

Now it was Thursday, with the last examination day being the following — Friday. He had one final group study session to give, but not to his usual group of friends.

"So we all agree to go over to Eddward's house directly after school today?" Nazz said. It was lunch period and they were in the meeting room for student government, with the representatives from every grade (two each) sitting around a desk fractal. Nazz stood at the "head" of the table, summarizing the results of a discussion that had sprouted from miscellaneous business. One of the freshman representatives had been late and almost brought to tears after taking an exam, and to console them, he offered to help them study for their next exam that day. Needless to say, others in the room were in the same position, and wished to take him up on that offer, too.

"Agreed." Said the female junior representative; one of a set of twins with her brother being the male junior representative. "But how are some of us gonna get there? Like, my brother and I can drive, and you and Edd have cars, too, but…" She paused, looking at the four remaining members — two sophomores and two freshmen whom she knew took the school bus to and back from the school, because the regular bus route did not extend to their areas, nor were their parents able to drive them.

"I would like to volunteer to drive them." He, Eddward, said. "It is to my home, after all. I can also drive you each to your homes afterwards, if no one is able to pick you up." He turned his head to smile at the younger members; they responded with their own smiles — and one even close to blushing.

"Are you sure, Eddward? Aren't some of your other friends going to come over, too?" Nazz asked him. He had bumped into her quite a few times over the week, and knew of his daily group study sessions. "You drive some of them too, don't you?"

"Not to worry, Inez," he said, calling her by her full first name in the same way she did to him. It was something they had started when he first joined student government in sophomore year, and they both grew fond of during junior year. Now that they were President and Vice President, it seemed all the more fitting. "I can talk to them about transportation arrangements. If any discrepancies come up, I will contact you all in a group chat beforehand, so as to arrange something else. If I do not make contact by the end of the day, assume that everything is taken care of."

"Okay then. Well, I guess that covers all of that," Nazz said. "Before we leave, does anyone have any final statements to make?" She waited for a moment to allow anyone to speak-up. No one did. "Great. Meeting adjourned!" She slammed her hand down onto the desk, as she always did, in the same way she would likely slam down the gavel when her lawyer pathway led her to being a judge. (He was certain she would reach that stage; he had managed to catch a few of her performances when she was in Mock Trial for the last few years of middle school, and first two of high school, and was very confident in saying that if anyone had the potential to become a judge, and the skill and justification to back it up, that person was _Inez_ _Van Bartonschmeer_ _.)_

 _With the meeting adjourned, the group reordered the tables before beginning to file out. He said his "goodbyes" and "you are welcomes" to all of them, especially to the male freshman representative whom had caused the arrangement for all the members of student government to go over to his house to do a final round of studying and finishing projects for Friday, and assured him once more that everything would be okay._

 _"Thanks Edd…" He said, looking down and clearly embarrassed, with pink coloring his acne-filled face. Eddward tried his hardest to look unbothered by the young man's reactions — for he truly was unbothered by them — and assure the boy once more that he was not imposing on him in any way._

 _"Next time, you should talk to me sooner. Or, well, not just me, but someone else as well. Someone you can trust. Studying with the help of another is always a great way to get work done, after all." He had to lower his head quite a bit to look down at the significantly shorter young man, who looked very flustered as he played around with the straps of his backpack._

"I-I'll try… b-buh-bye."

"Goodbye."

With that, the young boy went ahead of him as he exited the room. He went to say one last goodbye to Nazz, who was the only one besides him leftover, cleaning the white board that they had written on during the meeting.

"Would you like some help, Inez?" He offered.

"Oh no thank you, Eddward," she said, standing on the tips of her toes to reach the top of the whiteboard, "I've got it."

"You always say you do."

"Because it's always true." She threw a smile at him, momentarily turning her head to the side to address him. He saw something twinkle in her eyes before she turned her head back, and settled herself on her feet after wiping away all the erasable markings that had been at the top of the board.

He noticed, though, that there were still some leftover black marks. He took the eraser from her hand, and wiped at the particles in one stroke.

"Whiteboards are nice, but I often find sometimes enjoying more the aesthetics of chalk," Nazz said.

"I abhor chalkboards," Eddward remarked; to which she laughed.

"Well of course. A Mr. Fuddy-duddy like you probably cringes at the site of each dust particle that comes off of chalkboards," she teased; knowing full well that that was exactly what he often did. Their middle school used to have chalkboards.

"Whiteboards are no better. Now, smartboards, that is the way to go."

"If only we had managed to fundraise enough to get some. I'm sure everyone would have preferred them over these," she said. With the board clean, he followed her as she went over to the desk that still had some of the papers that both he and she had written on during the meeting, piled together; it was the only table with visible signs leftover from their meeting.

"There is still time, you know. Perhaps not for us, but for future generations," he stated.

"Mmm… _we_ definitely can't do it. Between graduation and prom and… _college_ , you and I are going to be drowning in work these next few months. But, yeah, maybe we can get the others raising? Oh. But we already have so many planned just to help out with prom and AP testing…" She sighed as she shuffled through the papers and began to order them before putting them in her accordion folder. "I wonder if the natural school budget can spring for it? Or some donors? Ah… well, whatever. No. Not whatever — but okay. Well, okay. We can look into it more later."

"You should find a stress reliever, Inez. I can see that you are overwhelmed." While Nazz was a master of always presenting herself professionally, she could not hide this time that there was more going on in her mind than she could probably conquer — which was saying a lot in and of itself.

He watched her put the accordion folder into her large _Hello Kitty_ tote bag, which seemed to hold everything and anything she needed, and then zip that up.

"It's not that I'm personally overwhelmed, I just…" She paused to look at him. He could see something odd mixed into her eyes as her facial expression took on that of a person who was hesitant to say something — like they were holding some sort of secret that was the cause for internal warfare in their mind. "I have a lot on my mind. A lot to say. Please, don't worry about it."

"I will try not to. However—"

"I know, Eddward. If I ever need your help in anything, I will be sure to tell you," she said with a smile; then her face faltered, getting more serious, but also nervous while still trying to maintain a happy expression. "Same to you. If you're ever troubled by something… you can tell me. After all, you've helped me out a lot being my VP. I want to help you out, too."

He smiled; trying not to show how he was put-off by her face and words.

"Thank you, Inez. I will be sure to remember that."

.

.

He and Nazz walked to the cafeteria together. They conversed on a random topic of mutual interest, and kept it going until they parted to their separate groups when they reached the large room.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"Goodbye."

At his friends' table, he found the only members to be May and Ed; both of whom were already eating while talking every now and then. May's laughs and giggles were significantly higher and more frequent when it was just she and Ed, and he, being very attentive to detail, could clearly see that she had taken the time to do-up her makeup more than usual. She likely knew it would just be the two of them for a while, ahead of time, and prepared beforehand.

"Greetings, you two," he said as he approached the table (having waited for an opportune moment that did not cut into the flow of their conversation).

"Hey Edd!" May said.

"Hi Double-D!" Ed said to him.

"Am I cutting in on the conversation?" He asked while looking at May; lightly teasing her and enjoying how she seemed fully affected by what he had just said, but Ed did not.

"Heheh." They both chuckled at the same time, but for completely different reasons.

"Where are the others?" He asked them. While taking his seat, May went to fetch the lunch that she had brought him. Pulling out his container, he thanked her as she handed it to him. He could already feel his mouth watering in anticipation.

"Lee and Marie aren't here. I don't know why. I've been trying to text them about it, but they're not responding," May said.

"Eddy got detention," Ed said with his usual smile, "it was really funny Double-D! He—he was making noises in class and stuck a pencil up his nose and it looked like blood was _everywhere_. It was just like that scene in _Night of the Living Pencils_ where the pencils stabbed the townspeople in their faces and blood came out like _snot_ from _everywhere_."

" _Ew_! Edd!" May said; while she was a fan of horror movies, she was not a fan of bodily fluids like mucus. Not after a boy in junior high had used her long hair as a tissue for his nose.

"Heheh. Sorry, May…" Ed responded; still with the same goofy smile as ever.

"What of Jimmy and Sarah?" He, Eddward, asked.

"Jimmy came by earlier. He said that he and Sarah would be in the library working on their project for tomorrow," May told him.

"I see. Well then, I guess it is just the three of us today," he said with a smile. Whether a big group or a small group, he always enjoyed the company of his friends; and even if they were not there, he would have found some entertainment in being by himself, too.

"…Actually, Edd, Ed and I have to go after we finish eating. There's a math review going on, and the reason we came here was to wait for you," May told him.

"Oh. I see. Please accept my gratitude for that," Eddward said. "However, is the review not going on right now?" They nodded. "Then you best ought to go."

"Are you sure that's okay? We can stay here for a little while longer."

"No, no, please go. I have already caused you and Ed trouble enough, May," he said; once more attempting to keep a smile on his face. It worked, and May smiled back. She and Ed then quickly packed up their lunches and left the table.

"We'll talk to you later, Edd!" She called back.

He waved at the pair before their backs were fully turned to him. He sighed. Sitting alone at the table, he ate with his back to the majority of the cafeteria; the view of the school's athletics field in front of him. After eating, he took care of his utensils and stored the plastic container, before going back to sit at the table and pulling out a book to read. He did not mind sitting alone at such a large table. He was capable of enjoying the time without his friends, as much as the time with them. The only times he was not able to do this was when—

He paused. He stopped reading. He put his book away. Standing from the table, he put his backpack back on and began to exit the cafeteria. He sought an environment that would require the usage of all of his mental focus. He… decided to go find the room where the math review was being held.

.

.

By the end of the day, he had managed to come into contact with all of the members of his regular group of friends, and asked them if they were going over to his house to study once more, that evening. Marie and Lee had work. May did not, but was going to spend the afternoon catching up on chores at the house. Ed had to both watch Sarah and Jimmy as they practiced their recitations at his home while their mom worked, and help them out with it, too. Eddy had to go over to the house of his biology partner to work on a lab due the next day. None of them would be able to make it.

Thus, Eddward was able to take all of the underclassmen that needed rides to his house, with him in his car. There was, however, but one problem. When they gathered in the parking lot and he was relaying the news on the carpooling arrangements, Nazz arrived with Kevin following behind.

"Hey guys," she said. She looked very normal and was smiling like nothing was wrong, but he — he, Eddward — could not help but feel paranoid at this. He… found the situation to be suspicious.

"Hey Nazz," said the female twin.

"Hey Kev," said the male twin.

Kevin, who had kept his head bowed low almost the entire time, with his hands deep in his pockets and his snapback spun around so that the brim would help to cover his face more, looked up at the male twin. His voice was low as he said, "Hey, Rick…"

"What are you doing here?" The male twin, Rick — Richard — asked.

"Kevin's actually my ride to Eddward's house," Nazz told the group. "I completely forgot during the meeting, but… Kevin and I have actually been carpooling today. Err… motorcycle-pooling, technically speaking." The smile on her face was nervous.

"Alright," said Rick, grinning, "Does that mean you're gonna chill with us, too, Kev? It's just boring studying, but I'm sure that with you, we can turn it into a _study party_."

Kevin gave a chuckle, and for a moment, Eddward felt as though his blood had frozen over. He was still as stone waiting for Kevin's response — oh how he desperately hoped that Kevin would decline the offer. After all, surely Kevin knew — saw — that he, Eddward, would be there; and that the two of them together in the same room was not something that he, Eddward, wanted. The last thing he and Kevin needed, was to be in the same room together—

"I… would love to"—he tried to keep his gasp as inaudible as possible—"but can't." His eyes went wide; his heart rose from the pit of his stomach that it had plunged into when he heard Kevin's first words, and slowly he found himself coming back into the right state of mind. "I need to study too, but I also got a lot of stuff to do over at my house. I might pop in later, though."

(…He would hate to admit it, but in his time and experience being around Kevin, he had come to pick up on a few of the young man's habits; such as the way he would work his hands through his own hair when he was thinking hard — as though he were trying to massage his brain to get it to recollect the information he needed — and often stuck out his tongue when he concentrated on physical work — like how he had spent almost three whole summers and many afternoons with his tongue out, working on his motorcycle.

Due to that, he knew that when Kevin said what he did, he was lying. Lying had an obvious poker face— no. Not quite. Kevin's poker face was almost _perfection_. In every crinkle and tug, his expression conveyed exactly what he wanted it to. Even his voice and body language played homage to that. Yet, to him, who had admittedly spent so many days looking at Kevin's face at various moments — studying, learning, memorizing every groove and each way his expression shifted to convey what it did — discovering that Kevin's past statement was a lie was an easy feat.

His eyes were dead.

Whenever Kevin lied, he always attempted to pass it on as a truth by being more expressive with his eyes — an exaggerated message through his eyes, he had always pinned it as. However, it was so easy to tell when Kevin forced this, as opposed to when it came naturally; because no matter how hard Kevin tried to let a lie come off as the truth, there would always be that dullness behind his eyes. The average person would not have been able to pick this up, but he, Eddward, could, because he… he knew Kevin better than the average person. What Kevin had said was not truthful.

In addition, he had said what he did because—)

"Aw, come on, man. _Edd_ is hosting. And you know how smart he is." Rick urged Kevin on. He could see a visible falter in Kevin's expression as he was mentioned. He would admit to having flinched some, himself.

Kevin gave a (nervous) chuckle. "I know. Trust me, I know. But I just got a lot of stuff to do over at my house, man. I really can't right now. But like I said, I'll try and stop by later." This time, the lie seemed to be on the verge of being a withheld truth — equal parts truth and lie, as opposed to the full lie he had given earlier. Rick was beginning to wear Kevin down.

"It is best that we stop bothering Kevin on the subject, lest we guilt him into it and leave him with big burdens afterwards." He could sense Kevin's surprise when he spoke-up, but did his best not to look directly at the young man, and instead addressed first Rick, then the rest of the group. "Come, the earlier we can get to my abode, the more time we all have to study."

The group agreed, and broke-off to their separate vehicles. He was glad to get behind his wheel and focus on something other than the inclusion of the young, red-haired man. He sighed; trying to keep a calm face as the four underclassmen settled themselves in his car.

"Seatbelts, please."

.

.

Arriving at his home, he guided the group (minus Kevin, of course, who said his goodbyes after Nazz's two feet were planted on the ground, and immediately went over to his home) into it. He welcomed them with a warm — calmer and truer — smile, and instructed them on both taking off their shoes, and giving him their coats so that he may put them away.

Once they were all settled in his living room, he watched quickly as some of the school's highest honor students with what one could call "top class" behavior, showed that they were young, spirited teenagers through and through.

"Edd, where's your TV?" Rick asked. He practically threw himself on the white leather recliner in the living room, and immediately began to press all of the buttons that were there. He gave a pleased sigh and wide grin when he reclined back with his feet up, and the chair's massaging functions were turned on.

"I do not have one. My parents have never believed in the usage of a television set," he responded.

"No way. How do you watch your shows, then? You do watch stuff, right? You don't just sit here and… read all the time, do you?" Rick asked, glancing at the large bookshelf that stood in the room, some distance off. With the living room environment set up against the wall with windows on the same side as the front door, the patrons were given a full, open view of the living space as they all settled. "Like don't get me wrong," he went on, "I enjoy reading as much as the next guy, but _all_ the time?"

"Don't be _rude_ , Rick!" Said his twin sister. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"I do have a laptop and a tablet," he, Eddward, responded. "They include subscriptions to major services like _Netflix_ and _Hulu_. The majority of my remedial entertainment comes from there."

"Oh cool. What do you like watching?" Rick asked.

"I bet you watch all sorts of documentaries," the female twin said to him. "I, personally, _love_ all the science shows they have on _Netflix_. I was watching one the other day about all these weird things that go on in the world, and I was like—"

"Oh stop sucking up, Elise!" Rick said from his still-reclined position. "Edd isn't gonna help you study more or anything because of it."

Elise scoffed; her blue eyes widening and face beginning to turn red. "I am not sucking up, Rick! Or should I say, _dick-head_?"

" _What_?!" Rick exclaimed, beginning to turn his body over to his sister who sat on the longer sectional facing the wall, with a row of draped windows allowing in natural light.

"Settle down you two," Nazz said, always being the one to keep the peace, "We didn't come here to play 20 Questions — we came here to take advantage of each other's helpfulness and expertise, and Eddward's kindness, and _study_. We _all_ have GPAs to keep up, I'm sure," she said in the same all-knowing, affirmative voice she used in their government meetings.

There was a silent consensus among the group.

"Right, then," Nazz said, clasping her hands together, "Let's get started."

The group study session with his friends from student government, was a bit different from when he did them with his more regular group of friends. He was very used to more rambunctiousness than actual studying; laptops playing movies instead of helpful clips; yelling and screaming over helpful conversation; and not to mention, the endless eating and drinking that was the source for why he kept large, 2-liter bottles of soda and various snacks in his fridge and pantry, even though he barely ate any of those things. Do not get him wrong: this group still had its own quirks when it came to studying. The twins, alone, were quite the source of the exact opposite of what they should be doing; but all of them, no matter the intensity of the moments of foolishness that came into play, managed to keep their heads focused on the work that they had to do.

It did not take long for all of them to reach a point where they felt "satisfied" with their studying. Or at least, that was what they said; but honestly, he felt that they simply got tired of studying and wanted some excitement. They had been studying since around 3 o'clock, and it was 6/7 o'clock when they all grew tired. That prompted the twins to get out one of those pill-shaped portable speakers from their car and begin to play their favorite songs, and for the group to all pool their money together and order some pizzas.

It was in no way to be described as a "party" — well, not by his definition. The group all sat around the table in the living room — with the boxes of pizza and chicken wings and brownies, along with cups of soda (on coasters, of course) and napkins and utensils placed atop — on both the provided couches and the floors, and chatted. It was very different from how they tended to speak to each other during their student government meetings. He found the usually quiet underclassmen proving themselves to be smarter and wittier than they normally appeared, and one of them even besting the twins in the "loudness" of their personality.

They talked, sung along to the songs that came up, and even danced. He was very surprised when he found himself cracking jokes and laughing as loud as he did with Ed and Eddy, and even more so when Nazz grabbed his hands and tried to get him to dance with her. He was a shy dancer, and self-proclaimed to have two left feet, but Nazz guided him and made him feel comfortable, and he let loose and danced with her. He was not good at the classical dances, but did have better luck with copying the dance crazes.

They did a dance contest; which the male sophomore representative winning with his breakdancing. They sang badly to songs that they all knew. They made scholastic puns that centered on the periodic table or courses that they all remembered taking freshman year, to keep the whole group involved. There was even a moment when the upperclassmen spoke to the underclassmen and gave them advice — it was fun. All fun. The most fun he had in days, if he was to be honest.

This made him a little sad when it came to an end. The glass broke, so to speak, when one of the freshman got a call from their mother, and had to quickly explain to her that they were not at a "party," but still at the study group. The mother wanted them home immediately — and in an almost simultaneous wave, they all remembered the time — almost 10pm — and began to leave one-by-one. He and Nazz, being the two who lived in the neighborhood and owned cars, each drove two of the underclassmen home; Nazz took the girls, and he the boys. The twins drove themselves home.

When he arrived back at his home, he was surprised to see Nazz standing at his front door and waiting for him.

"I want to help you cleanup," she said to him.

He smiled. "That would be very much appreciated, thank you."

It was not as though there was a significant mess in his house. The group had eaten and drank quite a lot, yes, but they did not make a mess — not on the level that Ed, Eddy, Sarah and Jimmy, and the Kanker sisters typically did when they were all over at his place. It was easy to clean and get everything reorganized; especially when Nazz had taken the time to bring along her own portable stereo system, and he was able to wipe and dry to the beat of music, with Nazz singing the majority of the songs.

Although, at one moment, he did almost fall when she bumped hips with him and caught him off guard. They both laughed it off, though, and then made a game of bumping each other when the other least expected. It was very entertaining.

In the end, with his living room cleaned, Nazz gathered her things and hugged him in the foyer.

"Thanks _so much_ for tonight, Eddward," she said before pulling back, her eyes shining. "Everyone had so much fun, and we managed to get tons of work done, too. I was so happy to see Jaime smiling," she said, referring to the freshman that had prompted the study session by bursting into the meeting room almost tearfully, earlier in the day.

"I was, too," he said, "Although the dance party was unexpected, I was still glad it happened. Of course, thank you, too, for helping me clean."

"Oh it was _nothing_ ," Nazz said, waving it off like she always did. He enjoyed her modesty. As it had been the hand she used to wave, she turned her left hand to look at the watch on her wrist. Nazz was one of those people who wore her watch "upside-down" so that the clock face was on the bottom of her wrist. She enjoyed the aesthetics of it. "I should get going though. I — _we_ — need as much sleep as we can get tomorrow, you know."

"Right, right," he said, "Goodnight then, Inez. I wish you well."

"Goodnight to you too, Eddward. Thanks again for letting us study here." Nazz gave him one more hug, and then began to head down the pathway of his front porch, leading to the sidewalk. He watched her start to go, and was about to close the door when he noticed her dimly-lit shadow stop moving in the night. A moment passed of confusion, before she turned her head to him and said — tentatively, in a voice just loud enough for him to hear — "You… should talk to Kevin…" She then took off.

* * *

A small cliffhanger to keep the anticipation levels up. Besides, that, though, I did enjoy the happy-go-lucky moments of this chapter. I am always looking for ways to flesh out the character's lives beyond their "default" from the series, and I think showing the various ways in which some of them are connected, helps with that. It also gave me an excuse to give Eddward some downtime and fun before the... not-so-fun things that are to occur from this chapter, going forward.

Next Chapter: Nazz's actions have now set-off quite the event.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	17. 17 out of 46

Sorry for the late update. My sleep schedule has been rather sporadic, I had to do a complete (and yes I mean _complete_ ) reset of my laptop to fix a serious issue that it had (do not worry, I saved all the important things in my Dropbox account), and I also practically passed out on my bed after coming home from a nearby park to catch Pokemon (the game truly is addictive and interesting). Many things happened. Although thankfully now everything is stable.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _17/46_

* * *

It was anger that carried him across the street, over to the Barr Residence. He left his house in a mad fury — but not mad enough to be blind, and not follow all the proper procedures for leaving his home in good security — and huffed and stomped his way over to the repainted, white with red trim and roof house. (He would admit, he had been very happy to see the moment when Kevin and his father had chosen to paint over their house's old, yellow-and-green-and-orange color scheme. It had been so painful to his eyes back then.)

He did not have to think about what he was going to say to Kevin when he got there. No. He already _knew_ the lecture that he would be giving the young man.

' _You imbecile!'_ He would say. _'How dare you go and tell Inez about all that has gone on? I do not_ _need_ _to feel pressured in one of the few safe spaces that I have left to occupy. Now I will never be able to face her properly — how can I be a part of student government with_ _that_ _? I will have to grin and bear it going forth — and all because you could not keep my name out of your mouth.'_

Really, there were better ways to converse. He did not have to get specific and drop his name. He could have done it a hundred different ways without now having Nazz approach him, all because he had refused to speak with him.

In the back of his mind, he could hear Marie speaking to him, yesterday, after she finished retelling a particularly infuriating story about how Kevin had challenged her in their physical education class earlier that day, and said quite a few unnerving things to her when she confronted him after.

' _Stay away from him, Edd. Kevin's a good-for-nothing jackhole who'll only continue being a total dumbass. He doesn't think. He doesn't care about your feelings. He's like a wild animal operating on pure instinct._ _Stay away from him_ _. Please. Don't ever go near him again…'_

He recognized that he was just about to do the very thing that Marie had warned him not to do — that she had almost pleaded at him not to do, with the way she had held his hands and looked into his eyes when she had said those words to him. He had sworn to her that he would not be near Kevin voluntarily — he had even gone into the works of having his French II class seat changed to where he was no longer at the same table as the red-hatted young man, completely separating them in any and all classes they shared. However, now, as he made his way to Kevin's front door after crossing the diameter of the cul-de-sac, he also recognized that he was doing what he was doing, for good reason.

He would make this the last time he ever had to speak to Kevin Barr; for it was clear, now more than ever, that Marie was right. Kevin was no-good.

There was no car in Kevin's driveway, stating that his father was still away at work. As the lights in various spots of the house were still on, he knew that Kevin was awake. With those pieces of information in mind, and his anger continuing to fuel him, he skipped the act of ringing the house's doorbell, and instead began to bang on the door — once, twice, thrice, until only Kevin opening it with an angry expression turning into wide-eyed shock and curiosity, stopped it.

"E—"

"Why did you tell Inez all of those things?" He said, cutting Kevin off. "Are you some special type of fool that has yet to be documented? What led you to believe that including _my name_ in your… sharing, was a good thing? Did you not think at all the effect that would have on _me_?" Kevin opened his mouth to respond, but he would have nothing of it. He came here to vent and warn Kevin about once more speaking of him or to him — he had crossed a line, and now Eddward was going to finish the entire event with no room for anything else to occur. "No. _Silence_. You listen to me now _Kevin Barr_. I _do not_ _ever_ want to see you look at me, speak of me, or even _think_ of me, ever again. I want you nowhere within my vicinity, from this moment on. I had hoped that you would finally get the picture after our _last_ interaction, but now I see that your lack of rational thought has kept you from that; that your selfishness is continuing to be the dominating force in your train of thought. Allow me to reiterate it once more for you, then — since apparently the other _four times_ were not enough: _I want nothing to do with you_ , and you better not want anything to do with _me_."

He stayed standing there for a few moments. His eyes were glaring holes into Kevin's eye-sockets, and he could see that _something_ was finally resonating within Kevin's eyes. It was like he was watching the pieces of one of his and his friends' many contraptions, finally come together into a creation operating as intended. The shock was wiped from Kevin's face, and his expression turned grim and solemn. He could see that in Kevin's eyes, there were still many things that he wanted to say, but he was holding back, because he _knew_ that there was no place for them — he knew that his thoughts were unwanted.

He held back the urge to smile at this. _Finally_ , he thought, _finally my suffering will be at an end. I can push this situation behind me. He is beginning to see everything for himself —_ _finally_ _he is understanding it all!_

It was a brief moment of triumph.

"I've decided to pursue you."

"Excuse you?"

 _What_ _did he just say?_

It was like his life was following the "tragic hero" trope in one of the old pieces of translated Latin literature that he had read during his childhood. The hero — he, Eddward, in this case — originally has nothing, with his situation being a rather morbid one (Kevin's initial kiss at him, and all the events following after), and then gains the glory that he wanted (what he thought had happened just now, with Kevin understanding his words and seeing his frustration and anger), and then loses it all to have nothing once more (Kevin's most recent statement). It was enough to make him clench his gloved fingers, and he was certain his face would have been red if the weather, the chilly late autumn night air, was not already doing a good job of making that happen.

Instead of responding, Kevin closed and locked the door on him. He did not slam it, but closed it in the same way someone did after having a pleasant chat with the neighbor or delivery man — most certainly not what he would have done had the places been reversed.

However, this action had him seeing crimson, and he once more began to bang harshly against Kevin's wooden door. He wondered if it was getting cracked, with splinters coming off of the other side. To him it felt like he was banging the door hard enough for that to happen. He avoided shouting, however, not wanting to strain his vocal cords for the earful that he was going to give Kevin when he chose to open the door — which he would, he knew, for it was in Kevin's nature to keep his suffering going. He had just proven that to him.

When the door opened, he was the one to go wide-eyed as two dogs passed the doorframe, wearing a set of wintry protective clothing made for dogs, each. He jumped back immediately, and onto the grass at the side of the cemented path that led to the sidewalk.

Kevin walked out with the dogs' two leashes wrapped around one hand, fully dressed for the wintry weather (it had occurred to him then that earlier, Kevin had been dressed in civilian, ready-to-wear clothes as opposed to something more suitable for pajamas). There was the jingle of keys as Kevin closed and locked his front door, and then put the set into his back pocket. The young man, wearing a red winter hat, then began to walk down the cemented path and onto the perpendicular sidewalk.

Eddward recovered.

"Wuh-what do you think you are doing?" He asked as he jogged his way up to Kevin, but kept a distance behind him to where the range of the dogs' leashes could not reach. He recognized the breed as Pit Bulls, and knew them well for their aggressiveness, and thus took precautions for it.

"Walking my dogs," Kevin responded. "I can't sleep and haven't been able to do much for them this week, so I figured—"

"No. Not that. Well… that, yes, but also—" He stopped talking and walking for a brief moment when one of the dogs seemed to smell him, and turned back as it began to walk in his direction. Kevin noticed this almost immediately, and both called the dog's attention to keep moving forward, and looked back at where he stood a few paces behind on the sidewalk and called back:

"Don't worry. She won't hurt you. Trix is just really curious about other people — she just wanted to see who you were."

Kevin remained walking the dogs, and he had to jog once more to catch-up, saying, "Keep her in line. I am _trying_ to interrogate you, and having… her suddenly approach me, is not making it easy."

Kevin dismissed his statement by scoffing with his mouth and shrugging his shoulders.

"There's nothing to interrogate me on. I've decided to pursue you. There's really nothing more to that than what I said."

He held himself from grinding his teeth together due to the dental consequences. "You _selfish—_ "

"Pig?" Kevin said, interrupting him in turn. "Yeah, I know. Let me guess: Marie talked to you about what happened yesterday, right? Honestly, that girl has such an attitude on her…"

"Well thank goodness she _did_ ," Eddward responded, starting to take offense what with the way in which he spoke about his friend. He briefly noticed that his surroundings were leading him out of the cul-de-sac, and into the direction of the Peach Creek Public Park, where he had seen Kevin walk his dogs in the past. (It had not been that he was surprised to see that Kevin owned dogs, but that he had not expected to ever see them so up close. He had, after all, never really gone over to Kevin's house, ever, after the set took up residence there.) "Otherwise, I would have assumed you to actually have both a heart _and_ a brain after that moment of mercy you showed me today."

"Mercy? Oh! Are you talking about me not going over to your study session?" Kevin looked back, allowing him to see his nod. "Honestly, I really wanted to go. That was my first thought when Nazz told me about it. But I didn't because I had a lot of stuff to do."

"Liar. I know you were lying when you told Richard that earlier."

"How did you know I was lying?"

"I _know_ you, Kevin Barr. I have seen the cracks in your Poker Face."

Kevin gave a chuckle. "That's so cute," he said, serving to only make his irritation grow. "That's exactly the type of stuff I've been thinking lately. I _know_ you, Eddward Marion Vincent, _too_." He wanted to wipe the smirk that he could not see, but was certain was present on Kevin's face, away. He would have done so, too, with a mighty glare if it were not for the two dogs still at Kevin's front. "And because I know you," Kevin continued, "I know that there's a lot that I don't know. I know that there's a lot I've yet to see. I know that anything and everything can happen with you, which is why I'm continuing to go after you. I have a lot of questions that I want answered. I'm… both curious about you, and care for you. A lot."

He snorted loud enough for Kevin to hear. They were now walking alongside a large wall that got increasingly taller as they went on, and actually held sections of Peach Creek's Public Park atop it (an alternative to leveling the whole area).

"What a fool you are," he said, in a moment of anger; anger that he felt begin to dissipate in the solvent that was his growing sadness and tiredness at Kevin's persistence to… not listen to him. "Why… why do you continue to say and do such harmful things? Kevin, I have told you time and time again how I have been feeling in regards to… all of this. How _dare_ you—"

"I know, Edd, I know," Kevin said, his voice audibly more serious than before. "I've been listening. To everything you said and have been saying, I've been listening."

"Then why—"

"Because, while I've been listening to you and being pushed to make all these… changes and sacrifices, _you_ haven't been listening to _me_."

He looked at Kevin incredulously, even though he knew that he could not see him. "What on Earth are you talking about, Kevin?" He asked. For Kevin to make such a claim was honestly ridiculous. He knew that he was listening to what Kevin was saying — every last syllable of it — but it was just that what Kevin was saying, was not something that he liked to hear. He could not help reacting to it in the way that he did. "I have been taking into account everything that you have been saying."

"Really? Because it sure doesn't seem that way." There was now a sharp edge to Kevin's tone. "Because, correct me if I'm wrong, the last time we spoke, you said that you wouldn't be running away from me anymore; that we would figure this shit out together. And what was happened since then? Don't answer. I'll tell you: _Nothing_. Literally nothing. What do I mean by 'nothing'? Again, I'll tell you: 'Nothing' as in, you've been avoiding me so much, that I haven't been able to speak to you a lot. 'Nothing' as in, rather than face our problems head on, together, I've been forced to try to face them by myself, and that isn't getting me _anywhere_ because you're not putting in any effort to help me. 'Nothing' as in, while you're secure in all of this and happy or whatever, I'm not. I don't mean to be selfish — in fact, I'm not being selfish. I'm trying to be fair here, Edd. I'm trying to give things a chance of working out without ending on a sour note. I know you think I'm trying to hurt you, and maybe, by accident, I am, but I've also been trying to figure out a way where you don't have to be scared of me or afraid to be near me. All you've been doing is leaving me behind in the dust, and I'm trying to catch-up in my own way — and the only way I can think of doing that, is by pursuing you and trying to build a relationship with you. I want it to be something positive that can work out in both of our favors."

Again, he snorted. Only this time, the snort was accompanied by a roll of his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kevin spoke before he could get even a word in edgewise.

"You've done nothing but deem everything 'unnecessary' for yourself. You've completely ignored everything that I've been wanting from this, because apparently it's not good enough for you. It's not what _you_ want, so _you_ don't care. That pisses me off Edd, and I'm tired of just… being forced to pity you and listen to all these decisions you've made for yourself _by yourself without even thinking about the effects it would have on_ _me_ , and am changing that—"

"Oh give me a _break_ ," he said. He found himself past his critical point for tolerance. "Kevin, how am I supposed to take any of the things you have said seriously, when I could read the confusion and uncertainty all over your face? It was as though I were listening to the babblings of a toddler — how was I supposed to respond to any of that? You want me to take the things you were saying seriously, then _be_ serious with confirmed thoughts and emo—"

He bumped into Kevin. Kevin had stopped walking and turned around so swiftly, that he had no time to properly react. The dogs were set loose (but did not run away, choosing to stay in one place on the sidelines) as Kevin abandoned their leashes to use his hands to grab onto his, Eddward's, biceps. He was left in a very compromising — and scary familiar — position, as he was almost chest-to-chest, and face-to-face with Kevin, who held him in place. He could only stare down at Kevin's green-hazel eyes, watching them darken with emotion, and trying his best to use his four-inch height advantage as a way to keep Kevin's lips off of his own.

"I _am_ serious," Kevin said to him. "I know what I want now. And I'm _very_ serious about it. My head's fucked up, but my thoughts are spiraling around one common thing — _you_. I know I want you. I want a good relationship with you, Edd, and I won't mind if it escalates into something more. But right now, I just want to be able to sit next to you and have a conversation. I want you to be able to be in the same room as me, again, and actually _smile_ at me and laugh at my jokes. I want to make it almost _impossible_ for either of us to be hurt by the other — because you've honestly done a number on me, too — because everything's going so well between us and all the bullshit is set aside. That's what I want. Can you see how serious I am about getting that?"

There was a moment of silence.

In that moment, he could do nothing more but stare into Kevin's eyes. Green-hazel. More hazel than actually green. Dark. Darker now than they had been earlier, or at several other intervals when he was able to stare directly into them. He knew that they were dark because of… the severity of Kevin's seriousness. Hard as stone — and as dark as them, too. They also shone brilliantly with his determination…

His breath was caught in his throat.

There was another moment of silence.

He could feel Kevin's hands slide down from their tight (but not too tight to hurt) position on his arms, and soon felt Kevin's fingers taking a hold of his gloved hands. Even though there was a barrier between Kevin's hands and his, and Kevin's hands were surely cold from the lack of protection against the frigid air, he could still feel their warmth on his skin.

"I don't want to hurt you, Edd. I don't want to be hurt by you, either. But I don't want to give up on anything, just yet. I want you to be happy to be around me. Like before. So… I won't hurt you anymore. I promise."

It looked like the moment was leading to another kiss. Not because Kevin was doing anything to bring his face closer, but because he could feel himself being pulled in by him — by Kevin's eyes, actions, and words. They were beginning to consume his mind, clouding his judgement. In his own mind, he could see himself kissing Kevin. He could see himself being the one to lean in and close the distance.

He did a sharp inhale.

"…I hate you."

* * *

Oh. In hindsight, this chapter would have been much better to be uploaded on Friday... oh well. Sometimes the schedule will not play nice.

Next Chapter: Eddward without a filter.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	18. 18 out of 46

Yes, this is on purpose.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _18/46_

* * *

"I am going to be _quite_ frank with you, Kevin Barr. I hate you. Very much — more than I have ever let on. It partially began because of you kissing me our freshman year of high school, but I got over that. I was able to overlook it. _'Time heals all wounds,'_ as they say. Thus, the source of my hatred for you is very recent. From September, forward, I have grown to hate you. _Hate_. A strong word, yes, but at the same time it is the best way to describe what I am feeling for you right now. Look at me clearly when I say this to you, one final time, Kevin Barr, and let the words sink into you so that you may never bother me again: _I hate you_."

* * *

My shortest, full chapter, ever. I felt that all that needed to be said this chapter was this and only this.

Next Chapter: There is now an internal war going on inside of Kevin's body. He must choose if Eddward is worth pursuing, still...

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	19. 19 out of 46

As you can see, this chapter is much longer than the last. A regular-sized chapter. Although, honestly, I enjoy experimenting with chapter lengths and styles as I write this story. I mean, sometimes a hundred or so words is really all you need to convey what you want in that chapter. Other times it may take over ten thousand words; and although I technically have a 5k word limit/goal/average for each of these chapters, it is good to compensate for the very heavy chapters with shorter ones. Experimenting with my writing is one of the reasons I love making fanfiction, in the first place.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _19/46_

* * *

Sleep was not something he even bothered with entertaining when he got home after. The moment Eddward had said to him those three fateful words, he knew that there would be no rest for him that night. It would be far worse than when he had the sexual fantasy with Eddward as his partner. Thus when he returned home, he released Lacey and Trix from their collars and leashes, and quickly served them a midnight snack as they warmed themselves after the long, cold walk through the park. He sat with them on the living room couch; he stroked their fur and pet their heads, hoping that they would fall asleep quickly and not become aware of the growing tension inside of his body.

His two dogs were always keenly aware of when his body began to accumulate stress, and would often put their all into getting him to release it. Normally he would be quite grateful for their hugs and kisses and love, but that night was not one of those times. That night, he felt the last thing he needed was a "distraction" like that…

To his luck, they did end up falling asleep — halfway through an old black-and-white movie playing on a random channel that he had settled on for white noise. Lacey, being the smaller of the two, was seated on the couch next to him, and currently rested her head against his thigh; he moved it gently so that it lay on the couch cushion instead. Trix fell asleep on the floor, and he made sure to be very careful as he moved about so as not to wake her.

He checked the time: 4:56am.

He knew that his father would be arriving from work at Peach Creek's staple candy factory in a few minutes, at which point the risk of him getting "distracted" in conversation that he would likely partake in if his father saw him, grew. He could feel his eyes were weighted with unfulfilled sleep — which would surely bite him in the butt later on in that day, when he had to take his final exams — but nevertheless, he exited the house once more before his father entered.

He did not need a "distraction" at that moment — thus as much as every instinct and _want_ in his body screamed for him to go to Eddward's house and make an attempt at talking to him, he forced his muscles to turn slightly to the left and instead head to the house right next to Eddward's. Nazz's house.

It was a little after 5am now, but he knew that Nazz was awake. Even as he walked the diameter of the cul-de-sac, he felt as though he could already smell Nazz's cooking as she fixed up breakfast for her two elder sisters. Sure enough, when he was walking up the pathway to her front door (being overly conscious of the tilt of his head so as not to even _glance_ at the Vincent Residence right beside it), his stomach growled at the smell of freshly-baked — or toasted — cinnamon buns.

He knocked.

Nazz answered the door a minute or so later after he knocked a second time. She was wearing just a long-sleeved cotton shirt and frog-printed, soft pants for her pajamas, with her short blonde hair pinned back with various bobby pins for some reason or other. He did not know why she would have a need to; her hair was short after all. Nazz looked thoroughly surprised to see him at her doorstep, but the look quickly faded a few moments later. He was certain she already knew why he was there.

"It's my fault," she said, immediately, while opening the door wider for him as an invitation to come in. He allowed himself to become fully enveloped in the sweet-smelling home. "I talked to him after we studied together yesterday— err, well, I just told him that he should talk to you. I told you that last night."

"You did," he said. It was the first time in a couple of hours since he had heard his own voice, and it sounded odd to him. Gruff, dehydrated; almost as though he had aged several years in the four or so hours since his confrontation with Eddward.

"You sound tired." Nazz was quick to pick-up on this element, as well. "You didn't get any sleep last night." A firm conclusion.

"I couldn't. Shit hit the fan and it made too much of a mess to ignore." Still, however, he surprised himself at how much he was even able to talk. He had been rather dissociative with his reality those past few hours spent on his couch and hoping his two dogs would go to sleep soon. He did not think he would be speaking much at all that day — and perhaps he was not? Perhaps he was just talkative now because it was with Nazz? The roughness of his voice bothered him. "Can I get some water?"

"Sure thing," Nazz said. He took a seat at the breakfast table in the summer-yellow and pink-lemonade-colored kitchen — with offsets of white walls and trim to break the colors up — and looked at the floral pattern of the steel that the glass circular tabletop sat on. The entire kitchen drew heavy inspiration from the countryside with elements of suburbia and the city, and somehow it worked. Nazz set a colorful glass-blown cup in front of him filled to almost the top with water, and some ice to garnish, to rest on a cream-colored coaster. "Here you go."

"Thanks." He grabbed the glass by its curved bottom, and could not help but get a sense of elegance while drinking from it. He always tended to feel that way when he was at Nazz's house; as homey as they managed to make it look and feel, it always came off to him as an elevated hominess.

"What did he say to you?" She asked him while she went back to tend to the cinnamon buns in the oven. "Did he yell? Did you guys get physical?"

"He told me he hated me."

"No," Nazz said, in pure disbelief. "I can't believe that. Eddward would never—"

"He said he's always hated me, Nazz. Well… no. Not always. He said he thought he hated me before — back when I kissed him freshman year — but he said he got over that. He only started to hate me now. He started to hate me back in September when I kissed him that second time — he's hated me since. Hate. _Hate_. He kept repeating it. I didn't want to believe him — I thought the same thing as you. It's Edd. He could never say those words and mean them. He's too… Edd. But…" He paused to take another sip of water; in the back of his mind, he commented on how calm his voice and exterior were as he retold the events that happened a few hours ago. He put the glass back down, half empty. "Edd's not the same. He's a completely different person. I saw that, Nazz. I saw how much he had changed in just the way he looked at me when he said that. And I know he wasn't lying. Not with the way he spoke — not with the _hatred and disgust he showed_. Edd's different, and he hates me. _Lord_ does he hate me."

Before Nazz could respond, the eldest of her two older sisters stepped into the kitchen. Wynonna came into the kitchen with a black duffle bag hanging from one shoulder, and a matching black purse from the other. She was dress streamlined in a simple white shirt tucked into a black pencil skirt, with black tights and _Converse_ shoes. When her green eyes caught the sight of Kevin as he sat at the five-person breakfast table in the kitchen, a look of moderate disgust and annoyance came over her face. She shook her long, blonde hair as she headed to the oven where Nazz was beginning to take the cinnamon buns out.

"Inez, why is your little _friend_ here?" She asked her sister, pointing a nail-bitten thumb to the back of her where Kevin sat.

"I invited him in for some breakfast," Nazz replied back. "He _was_ nice enough to let me ride with him yesterday, after all."

"A completely unnecessary thing," Wynonna responded after clicking her tongue, with a roll of her eyes. "Your car was fine. Mine was also fine, and so was Anais's. _Any_ of us could have driven you to school — and if not, a taxi could have been easily paid for."

"You know taxi service here is slow, Nonna. That's mainly downtown."

"It still would have been better than _him_." She turned her head sharply to look back at him. Kevin sighed. He never quite understood why Wynonna found _him_ the most displeasing out of all the people that Nazz was friends with. He wondered if it was because he constantly referred to her as an "Amazon" for her tall, muscled stature that had a few inches on him? Or, perhaps, it was their past together and the various times he challenged her to sports — football especially? Wynonna was an all-around athletically capable person, but she performed better in some sports than others, and had proven several times that she should stick to tennis… Now that he thought about it, there were a number of reasons why she would hate him most.

 _Another one_ , he thought.

Nazz sighed. "Here," she said as she presented her sister with a plate of three large cinnamon buns and used the big spoon to drizzle icing over, "eat."

"Thank you — are you giving any to _him_?" Wynonna asked as she grabbed one of the cinnamon buns and took a big bite out of it. She had spoken with her mouth full; apparently her concern with Kevin was greater than her concern for manners.

" _Of course_ ," Nazz said as she grabbed a second plate with just two cinnamon buns, and the separate small bowl of icing and took them over to the glass table where Kevin still sat silently. She placed the plate of cinnamon buns in front of him with the bowl of icing on the side. "I'm not sure how much you'll want, so…"

From the distance, Kevin could hear Wynonna muttering, "He shouldn't be getting _any_ …" He ignored her — a feat he always found hard to do — and instead focused on the cinnamon buns. He looked at their size and found them to be about the same as his fist, and knew that two would simply be too much for him then and there. He was hungry, but his appetite felt rather small that day.

"I'm only gonna have one," he told Nazz.

"Really?" She asked. "You sure?" To her, he looked a tad malnourished. If he had truly not gotten any sleep that night, then he would have to power through the day on excess stored fat and will alone, and for that, he needed to properly eat, _at least_.

"Yeah. I'm sure." He lifted up the plate. "You can have the other one if you want."

Before Nazz was able to reach out and grab the remainder of the cinnamon bun situation, Wynonna's larger and swifter hands snatched it and brought it to her face for a big bite; a seemingly never-ending glare on Kevin as she chewed and swallowed the bun harshly.

"Hmph." Was the only noise she made — the only noise she was _allowed_ to make before Nazz grabbed her sister by the hand that was not carrying two uneaten cinnamon buns on a plate, and took her out of the kitchen. "Inez, unhand me!" Wynonna called out.

"Kevin I'll be right back," Nazz said as she grabbed onto Wynonna's purse and duffle bag while still dragging her with the other hand.

"Okay," he said, nodding and drizzling his cinnamon bun.

.

.

The Wynonna situation came to an end after Nazz dragged her out of the kitchen. The two sisters had "talked," as Nazz said, before Wynonna finished eating in the living room and exited the house to go to her university classes for the day.

"She brought up the fact that she now technically owns the house, so I'm living under her roof, _again_ ," Nazz said to him while reentering the kitchen after watching Wynonna's car pull out of the driveway and exit the cul-de-sac. "Ugh. I'm so sick of her using that… even though she only ever does it when she's trying to get me to throw you out of the house."

"She must hate me, too."

"Kevin, Nonna doesn't hate you," Nazz said. Her full attention was now on him as she took a seat at the glass table, with her own duo of cinnamon buns glazed over in front of her. Her cooking was done, and all that was left to do was enjoy it with some milk on the side, and talk to her friend. "You're just projecting the thing that happened with Eddward, on her."

"Nazz, your sister hates me — maybe on the same level as Edd. Like what is it about me that has people hating me left and right? Like I know I joke about it a lot but… it hurts when it's real. Especially when it comes from someone you like…"

"Nonna?"

" _Edd_."

"I know," Nazz said, "I was just hoping you would crack a smile or something, Kev. Like you usually do whenever I bring Nonna up. I guess Eddward managed to stifle your crush on her, too." Nazz punctuated the sentence with a sip of milk.

He did not respond to that. There was truth in it, no doubt. He did find Wynonna Van Bartonschmeer very attractive. Physical looks aside, which were reason enough on their own, her attitude towards him had him thinking of her as more "cute" than anything else; and hoping that she acted that way towards him because she was attracted to him, too, and needed some sort of outlet for it. Not to mention, any female with her level of sophistication, barbaric prowess in sports, and intelligence could easily keep his attention. However—

Right now he did not need the "distraction" that was Wynonna.

Nazz set down her glass.

"So… Eddward hates you…" Hearing her say that was similar to slamming in the last nail that sealed his coffin. "What now? I know you feel awful about it. Are you thinking of… talking to him about it?"

"Honestly…" He gripped the glass between his hands tightly; it almost felt as though he could crack and break it if he applied any more pressure. "I… don't even know. I've tried talking to him before, Nazz. And now it's all blown-up in my face. Maybe I should just… give-up…"

"Or re-strategize."

"You can't seriously be telling me to keep going on with this, Nazz."

"I mean… I was doing some thinking on it, and… if during all of your past encounters up until yesterday, Eddward had been lying to you, then you guys really haven't 'talked,' you know? It's all been… smoke and mirrors, I would say — although honestly, it is a bit difficult to wrap my head around Eddward doing such a thing. He just seems so… _not_ the type."

"Yeah, well… I used to think the same thing…"

There was a moment of silence between them. Nazz was visibly upset and uncomfortable to him; he could tell that there was more about this situation that she did not like than she was letting on. He could understand that. It _was_ incredibly difficult to see Eddward saying or doing any of those things. It was not the Eddward that he knew; the sensitive, caring guy that always seemed able to brush things off with positive energy. Hearing the word "hate" come out of his mouth with such solidity was disturbing — it did not fit the "Eddward" that he had known for so long.

Not to mention, what Nazz had brought up — the chance that so far all Eddward had done was lie to him about how he was feeling in regards to their situation — had the cogs in his brain turning, and his mood turning even more sour.

Was it all a lie? Even what happened during Homecoming night?

He gripped the glass in his hands tighter; for a moment he swore he felt the glass begin to bend underneath the touch of his skin.

"You should probably get ready to go to class today, Nazz," he said to her, surprising her. When she opened her mouth to respond, he halted it in his standing from the table and pushing back his chair as he began to leave the premise. "You've got tests today, after all."

"…What about you, Kevin?" She asked him gently; she already knew the answer to her question before she asked it. "Don't you have exams, too?"

"Make-ups."

"Kevin—"

"I'm kidding," he said. He gave her a half-hearted attempt at his usual smirk while he adjusted the jacket he wore. "I'll be there. I'll probably be a bit late or something, but… I'll be there. I didn't let him get to me when I cried after getting slammed face-first in the mud, and I'm not gonna let him get to me now. I won't let him win like that."

"And what about talking to him?"

"…If I see him, and he wants to talk to me, I'll talk to him."

.

.

He did not drive his motorcycle to school that day. Instead, Nazz offered to take him in her usual carpool with Jonny. She insisted. If that day had been normal, he would have declined; but Nazz was persistent in her request to let her drive him, and he knew he was a bit unstable at that moment, and perhaps driving to school on his own was not the best thing — not after what happened last time when he drove in an odd state of mind. So he accepted her offer and took a seat in the back while she and Jonny sat in their self-assigned front ones. He found sitting in the back — alone, with as much silence as could be gotten in that car, with the freedom to sit back and relax and stare out of the window — to be a good thing. It helped him out a lot.

"How have you been doing lately, Kevin?" Jonny asked him. It had been literal months since he last spoke to Jonny, as the two of them flew in different formations at their school. Jonny tended to be with the computer science and fantasy crowd, while he was always with his teammates and the cheerleaders. Thus their interactions were few and far in between, but he never found them unfavorable.

"I'm hanging in there," he said, trying to grin as Jonny looked at him through the rear-view mirror of Nazz's car. "You?"

"About the same."

"You got any tests today?"

"Just a final project for my com-tech class," Jonny said to him, referencing the computer technology elective of which he was enrolled. Jonny had turned out to be quite the coder and programmer. He had managed to learn basic HTML coding in a few months, and then started adding CSS and JavaScript (whatever those were), and so on, until his work was so well-received that he was asked to design the school's official website, as well as a few partnering apps. He did it all for free; although Kevin was quite sure that there was money to be made in stuff like that. However, despite how much Jonny matured over the years — even to the point where he retired Plank and now kept his image as the cover for his cellphone — Jonny was still Jonny. The basics of who "Jonny" was, were still there in him, somewhere, and that Jonny did not take money from friends. He said so himself.

 _Jonny's still Jonny…_

"Ah. Okay. Another app or something?"

"No. Just wireframes for the website of a persona we were made to make in class."

"Persona?"

"Like another identity. I chose to build one for Plank." There was the smallest grace of a smile on Jonny's face, on his cool head, that showed his affection quite deeply towards his old, childhood best friend. Now Jonny had many other friends who were at his side, but Kevin was certain that Plank would remain his number one, no matter what.

It pulled at a grin on his own mouth. He chuckled. "Figures."

.

.

At school he received a call from his father. It was a bit unusual, seeing as how it was well past 9am and his father was usually asleep by that time.

"Pops, why're you even awake?" He was feeling a bit more like his normal self after losing himself in his schoolwork. Math was a bit difficult, and so was history, but he found the difficulty as a sort of welcome distraction and outlet for Kevin to be Kevin. So far, it was helping him do a good job functioning.

" **I just wanted to check-up on you,"** Alphonse Barr said from the other end of the line. Kevin walked into the males' bathroom instead of heading directly to his class. He would not be able to converse with his father there, after all.

"That's… really considerate."

" **Well, I am your father after all, Kevin. And I noticed you weren't really… yourself this morning. I was a bit worried until you came back to get your backpack with Nazz."** He could feel that part of him that was happy to have such a strong, bonded relationship with his father, begin to swell with elation. Hearing things like that were always nice. **"How are you doing now?"**

"Just fine, Eagle Eyes." It was something he always called his father when he was being overly observant of him and picked up on things he could not necessarily tell him. He was standing in front of a mirror as he said this, and leaned forward a bit as he studied his face while continuing the conversation. He still looked tired.

" **Your courses aren't giving you any trouble or anything?"**

"Nah. I've been able to pay attention all day."

" **What about your test?"**

"I have one after the class I'm gonna have now, and then the final one in my last class for the day. After that I'll head to work and be home by the usual — 9, maybe 10."

" **That's all good to hear, son."**

"Well…" He paused for a moment, going to ruffle the bangs that poked from his snapback. "I'm glad you asked, dad."

" **I'll see you in the morning tomorrow. Have a great day at school."**

"Thanks dad. Goodnight. Have a great day at work."

The call ended, and Kevin paid no attention to the ringing of the bell, signaling that classes were beginning. He instead stared at his phone for a few seconds as it showed that his call with his father had ended, and the home screen was displayed once more. He and his father rarely had the chance to talk due to their schedules, but…

 _I'm glad he doesn't hate me._

He was glad to speak to him, when he could.

.

.

His first class after his lunch period was French II; where he sat next to a present Eddward Marion Vincent, already copying the objective on the board, into his notebook.

He noticed — of which he hated, since he had settled on not paying Eddward too much attention that day — that Eddward was giving an odd sort of vibe. He doubted it was annoyance or rage at what had happened between them that night before, as opposed to the general displeasure of having to be around him for that class period. Walking to the two-person horizontal table felt as though he were approaching a lion's den.

No. Perhaps something more dangerous than a lion? A mixture of danger. A liger — a lion and tiger hybrid. That was what better described Eddward as he approached the table. A liger. Something with all the deadly features that make the two parenting big cats feared, as well as with an added boost of having a larger (more ferocious) body.

He attempted to sit coolly in his seat without making any sort of visual or physical contact with Eddward. That did not occur. The moment he went to pull his chair back, Eddward's hand was but inches away from him as he stopped the chair's movements. Their eyes met; both hard, like stone, but his, Kevin's, with more flaws and cracks in its foundation.

"You no longer sit here."

"What?"

"Your seat is next to Charlene. Lilly will be sitting here." As though on cue, the mentioned girl, Lilly — tan skin, big brown eyes, fountain of black hair spilling from the top of her head — came up to the table greeting Eddward with a big smile. She clearly saw nothing in being moved from her seat; meanwhile, he, Kevin, felt something tick within him at the arrangement, that he knew was not from Eddward arranging to have his seat moved without his consent, alone. "If you have any problems, speak to—"

"I get it," he said. He would not fight Eddward on this. He would admit to it stinging a bit and a part of him screaming to put up some sort of fight, but… the look in Eddward's eyes was still there. That unfamiliar, cold, hate-filled looked. He did not fight Eddward because he wanted to run away from that look. He did not want to see it anymore. "I'll leave."

He turned around and made his way to the back of the room, near one of the large windows, and set next to Charlene; an average-looking redhead. She was almost nothing like the charming, intelligent girl that he now saw sitting next to Eddward with her brightest smile, and him smiling back.

"What'd you do," Charlene asked him out of nowhere, "to get him to hate you?" He looked at her. She was staring at the same table he had been, with a look of astonishment and envy in her eyes. He felt burned by her question.

He snapped. "Shut up, Charlene." He knew he would not like sitting next to her. So nosy.

.

.

The French class situation ended up being too much for him. He wondered why it bothered him so much; especially when, just earlier that day, he had been telling Nazz how he felt as though he should give-up on Eddward and speaking to him. Yet… watching Eddward and Lilly interact that afternoon — he had counted. He counted the number of times they looked at each other. The number of times they seemed to converse — which was seemingly endless, he might add. Then there was the number of times that they had touched; shoulder-to-shoulder, hands, that moment when Lilly had placed her hand on Eddward's shoulder — her head, even. It had only lasted for a few seconds, and looked to be part of a joke, but Lilly's head had fit far too well on Eddward's shoulder, almost as though it belonged there.

When had they become that close? He did not think that Eddward was that comfortable with anyone else outside of his usual friend group — the other Eds and Sarah and Jimmy, which were attached to Ed, and the Kankers. Or, maybe, it was that in general, Eddward was comfortable with many people, and that he simply was unable to realize it because Eddward _hated_ him and thus was in no way comfortable with him? It was something that was always there, and he just never had the chance to see?

It was too much for him, he had decided. He left school and allowed Nazz to drive him to work that afternoon, while making light conversation with Jonny. At work, he tried to distract himself with the usual burden that came with fitting cars for snow tires because during the winter Peach Creek got a _lot_ of snow, and the standard-issue tires most cars came with and were constantly replaced with, would simply not do.

It was busy, heavy work that strained his muscles and made him groan — especially when "that one customer" always came in at several points in the season, questioning why they would even need snow tires. "My regular ones work just fine and everyone's telling me, 'Hey, have you gotten your snow tires yet?' 'Where're your snow tires?' It's fucking ridiculous. I don't even know why I'm here." He tried to appease the customer by telling them once more that Peach Creek had very heavy snowfall at least once per season, which tended to last a week's worth of time or so, and that the mayor recommended everyone with a vehicle had a set of snow tires ready, just in case, but it was no good. The customer, as their type always did, said, "Whatever. Stop fitting my car. I'm not buying any — I don't _need_ them." He did as such, finished the other repair work and watched the driver leave the garage, knowing that they would be back in a few weeks when it started to snow and complain about how they needed snow tires and had not gotten any before and how it was his fault for not telling them that they needed some in the first place.

It was work. A typical day.

He finished at his usual time and was none too surprised when he found Nazz waiting for him in the parking lot. She had left after dropping him off, but not before asking him around what time he would clock out.

"Perfect timing," she said with a smile, "I just got here."

"Then wouldn't the perfect timing be yours and not mine?"

She shrugged, saying melodically, "Maybe…"

He entered the front passenger's seat of the car, and conversed with Nazz a little as she drove them both back to the cul-de-sac. She asked him how his day was — (the image of Eddward and Lilly flashed in his mind before he could say anything) — and he said that it was "Okay — nothing special — the usual."

"You sure?"

"Sure as sure can be."

She did not press him, even though she clearly had the grounds to do it. Nazz was smart and knew him — knew him in the way he did not know Eddward — and could very well pick-up on the signs that his day had not been _okay — nothing special — the usual_ like he had said. However, Nazz was also considerate; one of his most favorite of her traits. She did not press him.

They arrived at the cul-de-sac and he thanked her for the rides and gave her a hug when they got out of the car. She squeezed him back, welcoming him, with the warm moment only being interrupted by Wynonna shouting from the front door of the house about "Get[ting] away from that _brute_!"

"I'll… see you tomorrow, Kev," Nazz said, visibly annoyed at her older sister. They both glanced at the doorway where they could now see Anais, still in her patrol uniform, smaller than Nazz despite being the second eldest, pulling at the Amazon Wynonna's shoulder with more strength than her body looked capable of exerting and trying to get her inside of the house.

"You're disturbing the peace, Nonna!" Anais exclaimed in her soft, squeaky voice that only made her be perceived younger than she actually was.

"Wha— let go of me Anais!"

"Yeah. See ya, Nazz," he said. He gave her one last hug before Nazz jogged up the pathway to her house and pushed both of her sisters in.

"You both are _so embarrassing_!"

The door closed, and Kevin was left alone standing on the sidewalk. It was cold. Dark. His only light were the streetlamps. Turning around — a full 180 — he could see his house. Shifting but a mere 45-degrees counterclockwise, he came to a stop with his vision at the house right next to Nazz's.

The Vincent Residence.

* * *

I thoroughly enjoyed expanding upon Nazz's family in this chapter, even though it was meant to be all about Kevin. Although he did have a sweet moment with his father, which made me happy to write, as well. When it comes to my portrayal of the characters, I do want to reveal at a good pace, more about their home life and family members to make them more three-dimensional. In fact, I have big chapters detailing such things for both Eddward and Kevin; but oh I could just not resist doing Nazz, too. There will also be hints about the Kankers in future chapters. Until then, have this short summary on Nazz and her sisters:

Wynonna Van Bartonschmeer: Mid-20s, student at Peach Creek University, studying forensics, currently interning at the Peach Creek Police Department (Physical Evidence Response Team division), nicknamed "Nonna". Wants to be a forensic scientist.

Anais Van Bartonschmeer: Early 20s, student at Peach Creek University, studying criminology, currently employed with the Peach Creek Police Department, very rarely called "Ana". Wants to be a police officer (of a much higher rank than she currently is).

Inez Van Bartonschmeer: Late teens, student at Peach Creek High School, employed at Flapjack's Candy Bar, nicknamed "Nazz". Wants to be a lawyer.

As for their parents, they currently live in another household. As their girls started to grow, they thought about downsizing and selling the house after the girls all left for university, but Nazz and her sisters had made too many memories in the house, and would not have it. They teamed up to convince their parents to leave Wynonna in charge of the house, as at the time of the decision she was already old enough to have it under her name. Since there was not much left on the house's mortgage, and the girls had clearly planned everything out, their parents agreed to let the girls stay in the house, and moved themselves down to Florida. The girls visit them during long holidays and breaks, and the family stays close.

You will get one for Kevin's father, Alphonse, during the chapter focusing on Kevin's family dynamic. Look forward to it, and all the others to come.

O-oh, and... um... much sadness this chapter, though... right?

Next Chapter: For what seems to be the last time, Kevin visits the Vincent Residence.

 _Please review_!

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	20. 20 out of 46

I cannot believe that I am almost halfway through this story. This is one of my longest fanfiction ever, and this is also the quickest I have ever completed one of this size. At this rate, it will be done with the story before the new year; it will have only taken a year to complete it. Honestly, if you were aware of my old fanfiction habits, you would be surprised as I am.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _20/46_

* * *

Eddward had company over. As he approached the household, he was able to spot this through the kitchen window of the Vincent Residence. It was a smaller type of window, above the chrome farmhouse sink that he knew the Residence sported, with white drapes framing it. From it, he could see Eddward — due to his tall figure — as he went to do something over the sink. Eddward was giving a faint smile, and looking back. It was clear to him that he was conversing with someone. However, the person's identity remained a secret to him.

 _Now would be a bad time_ , he thought, as he continued to watch the small peep of Eddward from the window, _If I try to do anything—_

— _Wait._

 _What even was it that I was hoping to do?_

 _Didn't I say that I was going to give-up on him?_

 _It'd be the smarter thing to do, after all._

 _But…_

He put all of himself into the sigh that followed his thoughts. It was as though all of his frustration throughout the day collected itself into the air he inhaled, in his nostrils, and then attempted to go out with it as he exhaled through his mouth; just like his coach had taught him to do during football practice in his Junior High days. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He had referred to it as the "best" breathing method for regulation during practices.

However, it must be noted that the frustration of the day only made an _attempt_ at exiting his body that way. It was still there, in him, after he finished his exhale. In fact, now it felt more front and center than before. Now, collected, it clumped together into a ball of nerves in the back of his gullet. He attempted to swallow it. It remained.

Eddward was no longer in the sight of the window. He, Kevin, found himself trying to look for another way to glance at him. Continuing his walk across the front of the Residence, he noticed the curtains that he knew were used as decorative elements in Eddward's living room, were closed. Perhaps it was because it was already dark? If his memory served him correctly, Eddward always closed the curtains of the largest windows when it was getting dark. _"It is for safety reasons,"_ he had always said to him.

 _Or_ , a voice in the back of his brain tickled, _it's so he won't be seen with whoever he's talking to?_

 _ **If**_ _there's anyone there to begin with,_ he reminded the voice.

 _Don't be an idiot,_ the voice said, _of course there is. He's obviously talking to someone. Probably some chick. Probably Marie or one of the other Kankers — or_ _ **Lilly**_ _or some other hot girl._

 _Or a_ _ **guy**_ _._ He rolled his eyes at that particular comment made by the voice. _What if he's doing the same shit you dreamt of to—_

 _Stop right there. That's not happening._ He was very firm in responding to the voice in his head. As odd as it was, he felt the voice to have far more weight than one would originally perceive it to have. Its ramblings, he immediately knew, were not complete nonsense. There was speculation and anxiety mixed into what it was saying, yes, but that did not mean he should just overlook it. He could not dismiss it. The voice, after all, was just another part of him.

 _How do you know?_ It questioned him. _I think it's obvious that you don't know a thing about Edd. Well, less than you thought you did. There is some pretty obvious stuff, after all. Anyways, point is, he_ _ **could**_ _be gay._

 _He and Marie had sex,_ he countered.

 _You're acting like straight guys can't sneak dick like lesbians do._

— _What did Nazz call people like that?_

— _Bisexual?_

 _Yeah. Yeah._

 _ **Bisexual**_ _._

 _ **Edd's bi**_ _._ _So not_ _ **totally**_ _gay, but…_

He wanted to roll his eyes at the voice's revelation, but once more, could not. Bisexual. It was not complete and utter nonsense — in fact, there was a very good possibility of something such as that being true. Eddward could be bisexual. Eddward could be interested in men just as much as he is in women. Eddward could have some male over from their school right now, and they could be on his couch—

 _No._

 _No!_

 _This is Edd, after all, he's too…_ _ **proper**_ _for anything like that._

— _Is he though?_ The voice asked him, almost taunting his attempt to hypothetically find his footing on a more favorable situation. _Like… you saw how he talked to you the other day._ _ **You saw how he looked at you**_ _. That wasn't proper — far from it. It was bipolar. So I think it's a safe bet saying that Edd could be in there fucking a dude on his couch. Or being fucked, ya know, whichever role he chooses to take on._

— _Dude does it freak you out you're actually thinking about whether Edd would be on top or on the bottom with this other guy? Haha._

 _Like, in your dream he was on the bottom, but like—_

 _Oh god just shut up already._ He was getting annoyed, having his full of the voice and what it was saying. Already in his head were small visualizations of his dream with Eddward, except, he was starting to imagine Eddward with some random male. Anyone — one of the other Eds, even. They were thoughts that made him blink his eyes quickly, in the hopes of dispersing them even faster.

 _That's not gonna work,_ the voice taunted, _if you really wanna stop thinking about that stuff, then go find out who's inside Edd's house and what they're doing._

 _You're insane,_ he told the voice, _I'm trying to… to get over Edd. I'm trying to give-up and just walk away from the situation because obviously — after what happened last night — it's proven that nothing good will come from… us. I can't be… whatever it was that I wanted to be with Edd. I can't pursue him. I can't become linked to him in any way — especially not like how I had thought we could end up being together. Happy, and all that. It's not good. Honestly, just standing here is nothing short of torturing myself._

 _I'm going home._

He turned away from the Vincent Residence, and began to walk to his household. The voice, at this time, was louder in his head and quite persistent in getting him to do the very opposite of what he was doing then.

 _You can't be serious._

 _You spill your guts out to this guy just yesterday — telling him how he's driven you mad and you want to be with him and don't want to hurt him and all that other shit — and now you're just gonna turn around and_ _ **walk away**_ _?_

 _ **Hell no!**_

 _This isn't the first time you've been rejected, if you don't remember. Like, Wynonna_ _ **alone**_ _has said worse shit to you than Edd ever has. Then there was Nazz, Emily, Rachel, and freaky Vicky. Like this isn't the first time you've gotten your heart broken, is it?_

— _Nazz doesn't count. You know that._

 _Same fucking difference._

 _Point is: These other girls — Wynonna excluded along with Nazz — have all rejected you._ _ **But**_ _that didn't stop you. You didn't turn around and run back to your house with your tail between your legs. No. Hell no. Instead, you came at them stronger. You freaking showed them what they were missing out on. And what happened after? Blowjobs. Blowjobs everywhere._

 _And that's important_ _ **how**_ _, exactly?_

 _ **Because they came around, dumbass!**_

 _They had said so much shit to you and made you think that they never would, and yet, they did, and you got to third base with all of them. Hell, you even ended up giving one of them your virginity, and she stayed with you for like six months after until you realized she was fucking crazy and broke up with her._

 _You know that when I went after those girls, that's all I really wanted, right? I wasn't looking for a relationship. I just wanted… goddamn. As bad as it is to say, I did just want to have sex with them. That was all. And you_ _ **know**_ _that's not the case with Edd. I don't just want sex from him — hell, I don't even know_ _ **if**_ _I can have sex with another guy. It's not exactly something I ever thought that I would do. But that's reason enough to show you that Edd's case is very different from those girls. The only one I really, sort of wanted a relationship with was Nazz, and that was mainly because having sex with her didn't feel right, but even that didn't end up happening in the end. We just fooled around, decided it wasn't for us, and moved on. Because in the end we still agreed to remain friends, so it wasn't much of a loss. But I've made no such agreement with Edd. He's not even my friend. So if things don't work out with him how I want them to, it's a_ _ **huge**_ _loss. Everything between him and I is over._

 _I can't just go after him. I actually need him to want to be with me as much as I want to be with him for things to work out. And, if you haven't noticed, he_ _ **doesn't**_ _. The complete opposite, actually._

 _So, yeah, because of that, I'm gonna give-up. I know that if I do any of the things I told him I would the other night, he'd just end up hating me more. And then he'd transfer himself out of all of my classes and change the floor of the school that his locker's on, so I don't even have a hope of seeing him._

He was standing in the middle of the asphalted road of the cul-de-sac at that moment. He had stopped walking a bit ago, during his sharp and long-winded rebuttal against the voice in his head. For a moment he had actually considered doing what the voice was suggesting, but in the end, there was simply no denying that his situation with Eddward was much more delicate than it had been with those other girls. Those other girls had just been pretty faces he had set his eyes on and hoped to get lucky with. Eddward was… something much more than that. Something much less superficial and trophy-like, and more challenging and rewarding.

He had not felt much of any type of fear at the thought of losing those girls (again, Wynonna and Nazz excluded), however, with Eddward, that was all he felt. He feared it even then as he took up to walking to his home again. The growing distance both acted as a physical representation and metaphor of his relationship with Eddward. It made him bite onto his bottom lip.

 _This is honestly the best thing to do,_ he said to the seemingly silent voice as he finally reached the pavement of the sidewalk in front of his own home. _If I don't force it, then things won't get worse. Then maybe in a few months, things will go back to how they were before I kissed him again — before September? I might be able to hold a casual conversation with him. You never know._

 _ **Liar**_ _. You know that'll never happen. Not if—_

 _It'll_ _ **definitely**_ _never happen if I do what you want me to._

 _Just go talk to him._

 _Talking won't help. I've tried talking to him before. We talked like a night ago, remember?_

 _Yeah. And?_

 _ **And**_ _it didn't work out. It's why I'm like this in the first place…_

 _Yeah, but—_

 _But what?_ _ **What**_ _? What could you possibly say that would get me to turn around and head over to Edd's? Wait. No. I'll answer the question myself._ _ **Nothing**_ _. There's absolutely nothing you can say that'll get me to do that._

…

 _Now be quiet…_

…

…

…

…

 _But what if… he lied…?_

 _I know it bothers you. You know it's something you've been thinking of since last night after he told you he hated you. 'That's so different from how he had acted during that night after Homecoming,' I know you thought. Because you're right. It_ _ **is**_ _different. It's so different that it makes no sense for him to act the way that he did. After Homecoming, he had talked to you and opened up and_ _ **cried**_ _and probably said things to you that he hadn't said to himself up until that point._

 _In fact, hearing that he's supposedly hated you since September, it makes even less sense that he would let you see him cry like that, in the first place. You get what I mean, right? Like what type of person lets their guard down around their enemy like that? There's really only two explanations for it — actually no, wait. There's just one explanation, but with two variants._

 _He either:_

 _ **Lied to you about hating you**_

 _Or,_

 _ **Lied to you about everything he said while you guys talked after Homecoming**_

 _And you know that's_ _ **definitely**_ _something you need resolved before you can move on. Otherwise it'll be a giant 'what if' and you'll be kicking yourself over it for the next couple of weeks or months or years or… whatever._

 _Point is: You can't just walk away from Edd. Not when it's clear that everything that's happened so far, doesn't exactly add up…_

 _So what're you gonna do? Go home and think about that forever? Or are you gonna turn back around, go to his house, and ask him what all that was about?_

.

.

 _I can't believe I'm doing this_ , he thought as he finished walking up to the front door of the Vincent Residence. There were bubbles of anxiety bursting in his stomach and creating shockwaves that made it churn uncomfortably. He was biting onto his dry, cold lip hard enough that he was surprised that he had yet to start bleeding from it. _I really can't believe I'm doing this. Damn him,_ he said to himself as he thought about the (smugly) quiet voice in his head, _Why'd he bring that up?_

It was true.

It was all true.

The issue concerning Eddward lying to him in the context of either saying that he hated him, or the words and comfort that were exchanged between the two when they had their first face-to-face candid chat was something that deeply perturbed him. He had thought about it a lot — far more than he would have liked. It was, he considered, in the list of top three things that had kept him from getting much rest after his confrontation with Eddward.

He had realized the inconsistency just as he had been about to doze off, and after managing to articulate it well within his own thoughts and point out every discrepancy like a spot-the-difference game, it had solidified itself as one of the most troubling things that he had thought of that night. Not to mention, it also held a lot of weight to it — much like the voice.

 _I really can't believe I'm doing this,_ he thought for the third time, _this is going to end so badly. I just know it._ Yet, his finger still rose to ring the doorbell of the white-and-blue two-story home, opting out of knocking after remembering how much Eddward actually disliked knocking. _No use giving him a reason to turn me away._

A few seconds after, and the door opened. He attempted to once more swallow the ball of clumped frustration and anxiety that stuck itself to his esophagus. That, once again, failed and it remained in place. In fact, he felt that it actually doubled in size once he came face-to-face with the very person that caused it.

"Barr, Kevin." Eddward was monotone, face neutral, eyes unreadable and making direct contact with his own. "What… a surprise."

"H-hi…" It was all that he found himself able to say at that moment. It very eerily reminded him of the little blue alien from one of Nazz's favorite animated movies. There was a difference in the tone he used and the mood around him from when the little alien used the line, yet the delivery, to him, was still very much the same and held the same purpose; an attempt to diffuse a situation and present himself in a way that did not garner any negative reactions.

"To what do I owe the _pleasure_ of your arrival?"

 _He's pissed. He's clearly pissed. I should turn around and leave now. Forget everything; just go home and hope he doesn't plot to kill me after._

"I was… just in the neighborhood."

 _ **Duh**_ _!_

He was quite certain that at his less-than-intelligent statement, Eddward was holding back the urge to roll his eyes and slam the door in his face. He did, however, sigh before saying to him, "You do not say…" He in turn held back an embarrassed red.

"Y-yeah… look…" He sighed, collecting himself. "I… obviously came here to talk to you—"

"Unfortunately I have company at the moment—"

"I can wait."

 _Great, now I'm being intrusive…_

He barely had the gist of why he responded the way he did, but he knew that it came from a place of disparity and urgency. Eddward had planned to turn him away at that moment, no doubt, and as much as he felt as though he were stomping on cracked ice, he knew that if he turned away then and there, after giving in to that other part of him and going the distance, there would be regrets. There was be "what ifs." There would still be questions.

"No." Eddward looked about to shut the door in his face. Kevin knew that he would have, had he not had a guest inside and did not want to do anything that would cause his guest to worry.

"I won't be long," he said, more firmly. "Edd," he said, making direct eye-contact with him, "this'll be the last time."

He knew it was nothing short of a miracle when Eddward opened up the door more for him, and gestured for him to come inside. Of course, he also knew it was not because Eddward believed in him or trusted him or anything of the sort; he was certain that Eddward was only allowing him into his home because out of everything that he could have done, that was the best solution to the problem. It was only logical.

Going in, he thanked Eddward briefly before going through the process of taking off his coat and boots, and putting on a pair of slippers that Eddward had waiting at the door. He had not done those things for years, physically speaking, as he had done it prior in his dreams. He briefly wondered if Eddward was shocked that he remembered about doing any of that — then quickly told himself it did not matter. Eddward hated him. If anything, he was probably just thankful for it because it meant that he would not bother him with messing up his household.

"I already have company…" Eddward said once more to him. "Do not allude to _anything_."

' _Be on your best behavior,'_ he translated to himself, _something that I was already planning to do._ Physically, he nodded at Eddward to let him be aware of the decision. It was the logical thing to do.

"Forgive me for that rather long pause…" Eddward said as he headed into the living room, him following right behind him. As he entered the all-white space (which lacked a multimedia setup like he had dreamt, but still had its own, odd coziness to it), he bit on his bottom lip to keep himself from giving too much away, as Lilly, sitting on Eddward's couch and sipping at a drink, came into full-view.

 _It_ _ **was**_ _Lilly…_

"Even more so for this: Kevin will be joining us this evening. I hope that is not too much of a problem."

He once more attempted to swallow the hard lump in his throat. He failed. His voice came out raspy; his mouth was dry. "Hey Lilly." He paused to clear his throat. "Nice to see you." He was on his best behavior, and thus tried to keep from his voice any hint of… negativity. He was certain that Eddward, whom he felt watching his every move critically despite his back currently being turned to him, would pick-up on his tone, and have a couple choice words for him after.

 _It doesn't matter that she's here,_ he thought, _you're just here to talk to Edd. You just have to be with her for the next… god I hope it's not an hour._ He glanced at a clock in the room, which was placed over the opening to the kitchen, right in front of him. It read just past 11, shockingly enough. _She'll be leaving soon._ Eddward would surely want her to.

"Hi Kevin," Lilly said, smiling. He took a moment to realize just how attractive she was when she smiled. He wondered how many times she had smiled at Eddward the same way, and if it— "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to, uh, hang out with Edd for a bit."

"So late at night?" She asked, a perfectly trimmed, thick eyebrow raised; dark in color, and contrasting well with the lighter value of her large eyes.

While looking for a proper response to that question — _Something not suspicious, something that could work_ — he noticed that on the glass coffee table in front of them, there were books skewed about. He immediately recognized them as textbooks from their school. _Studying, I came here to study_. He had his backpack with him, and it was no secret that Eddward often tutored many of the people around him. The Eddward standing before Lilly would surely not mind if he were to get a late-night visit for some help on the night before the final day of examinations that term.

"I need some help studying," he said, giving a shrug on the shoulder that held the strap of his backpack as though to say, _'Look, I have my stuff with me. I'm here to legitimately study.'_

Lilly accepted the reply. She looked at Eddward, smiling, and said, "It looks like I'm not the only one today, anymore."

"It appears so," Eddward responded.

"You're just too smart, Edd!"

Eddward gave a grin; something that he, Kevin, knew would never be directed at him. "I humbly accept your compliment." Eddward moved to sit on the couch were Lilly sat. He, seeing this, decided to move as well. He tried to look nonchalant and calm as he went to sit on the single recliner perpendicular to the long sofa that the other two occupants of the room sat on.

Setting his backpack beside the chair, he noticed the lack of plastic on the furniture. Yet, the material used to make it was still leather. It looked brand new, as though no one had ever sat on it — when he did, it was firm. He could not help but wonder if this was the way things in Eddward's home now were. Couches and chairs no longer in plastic, yet looking and feeling as though they had been meticulously preserved in such? Perhaps he put plastic on everything during the night, and only removed it when company was over? As for firmness, perhaps no one had ever taken a seat on that recliner until him? He doubted that thought, though. Surely one of the other Eds — Eddy, he was most certain of — would have claimed it his throne on many of the occasions they visited.

He felt an odd sense of being out of place creep in while he sat on the recliner — inside of Eddward's home.

"Although, this is so awkward, though," Lilly said while he took a seat on the recliner. It took him a moment to realize that she was speaking to him, until he made direct eye contact with her. "I'm about to leave soon, and am just waiting for my mom to pick me up."

 _Thank goodness_.

"Really? That's too bad." He did not know what else to say.

"Yeah — but thankfully, I managed to get all of my work done. Honestly, Edd, you're too amazing. I'll have to bake you a cake or something to thank you for helping me out." Lilly's hand went to tuck back a section of hair that covered her right ear. In doing so, she looked very flirtatious, although he was certain — rather, he hoped — it was just an absentminded action.

"I am afraid I am not really one for sweets anymore," Eddward replied (still looking at Lilly, never looking at him).

"Oh come on. There has to be something you like. What about dark chocolate? Or… funnel cake?"

"In the winter?"

"It's never a bad time for funnel cake. It's delicious whenever."

"You do not have to repay me."

"I want to. Is there anything you want? Anything at all?"

"…I will tell you when I think of something."

"Wha— _Edd_!" At that very moment, a new set of noises arose from a combination of what he could only assume was Lilly's cellphone, and honking from a car outside. "That's my mom," Lilly said, holding up the pink and glitter phone and answering the call. She spoke in what he knew to be her native tongue — with his knowledge of the language itself simply being that it was not English — whilst standing and beginning to collect her stuff.

He was silent throughout the entire moment. He only spoke, once, when Lilly said goodbye to him and he courteously returned it. Eddward escorted her out; he took her all the way to her mother's car, he saw, from the window in the living room. (He had been unable to help himself as he had gotten up to watch her fully leave. Something nagged at him to do so — he believed it to be the voice in his head that had verbally gone silent after it convinced him to go to Eddward's house.) He was back on the recliner when Eddward reentered the home.

"I see you truly do lack respect for the privacy of others."

 _He saw me looking — should've known…_

"I only—"

"I really could not care less. Rather, get to it. What is it that you wanted to say to me?"

The shift in mood was instantaneous. The out-of-place-ness that he had been feeling ever since he entered Eddward's home and took a seat on the couch, surprisingly began to diminish. _This is why I'm here right now_ , he thought. _There's no other reason but this_. He was nervous, yes, but not uncomfortable. Being a bystander to him and Lilly had been uncomfortable, but confronting him head-on with his questions… felt right. It was what he needed.

He sat forward on the recliner.

"I want you to be perfectly honest with me Edd," there was no hesitation in his voice as he spoke, "everything you said to me when we spoke after Homecoming, was that all a lie? Did that moment…" He paused, thinking back to that very scene. Eddward crying; telling him he was scared; he, Kevin, holding onto him; wiping away his tears; promising to never hurt him; Eddward responding; Eddward using a tissue to rid his face of his own tears; Eddward promising that they would work things out together. It was enough to make his heart constrict painfully. It was enough to make him sigh deeply, and to become more scared of the scenario that — maybe, just maybe — no, not maybe, but _quite possibly_ — that had all been… "Did it mean nothing to you?" He somehow managed to finish; holding himself together from the anxiety that threatened to render his mind useless. "Was it just an act? Were you just—"

"Stop repeating yourself." Eddward's voice was a distant, cold star as he spoke. "I know what it is that you are asking me."

"Well?" He said, still calm, voice not yet shaking; he had not allowed Eddward's interruption or statement to faze him. Those words were nothing. They were not what held the potential to devastate him. "Answer me, please." There was little begging in his tone. This was not a moment of grief or sadness. It was to be a moment of clarity, which, regardless of what is said, he will swallow and accept.

Eddward hesitated to speak. He continued to stand beside the couch that earlier he had sat on with Lilly, and stared at him for a few moments. His eyes were indecipherable. Taciturn. Stone. Yet he clearly saw the very faint motions of Eddward's lips opening to speak, just barely, and then closing immediately after.

 _This waiting is hell,_ he could not help but think, _just say it already. I can take it. I just want this to be over. I just want to be able to move on._

The silence seemed endless.

Finally, Eddward exhaled and fully spoke.

* * *

With the story almost being half over, I am happy to say that when that threshold is reached, the new phase will begin. As in, less (sort of) angst, and more (sort of) relationship building. Really, I have written a lot of arguments and confessions between these two, but this next one will be the greatest. The next chapters leading up to the midway point will all be transitional. Kevin has a new mindset, and Eddward is more true to himself in this story. The character development has reached its proper form. Look forward to it.

Next Chapter: Eddward is at his most candid with Kevin.

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


	21. 21 out of 46

This chapter is a full confession chapter from Eddward. It will put an end to two major events in this story: Eddward and Kevin's Homecoming conversation, and Eddward's past relationship with Marie. It will set the stage for the new "arc" starting on the 23rd chapter. Onward to less drama (sort of) and more nookie (sort of). This chapter is all told from Eddward's perspective — just his thoughts and dialogue.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original _Ed, Edd n' Eddy_ characters. I only own my interpretation and usage of this plot, and whatever miscellaneous characters I may add. This story will also include scenes not suitable for children or bigots. You have been fairly warned.

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

It's Complicated

 _21/46_

* * *

 _A part of me feels as though I am going to regret this… Good lord. Why is it that this man always has me going out of my comfort zone? How intolerable he is…_

"Truthfully, that moment was…" _What is he going to do after I tell him what he wants to know? Will he keep to his word and leave? Or will he show his stubborn streak and once more cause me anguish? I hope it is the former — he does appear to be… more reasonable today…_ "Not a lie. My reaction was wholesome and what one could say as being from the heart…"

 _Look at him. Shocked. He certainly expected me to say that it was a lie — I could have fibbed and he would have taken that as the reality. What a wasted opportunity. No. No, Eddward. Nothing good comes from lies or hiding away honest feelings — you have already experienced that firsthand._

"I still hate you." _Good, keep reminding him of it. Do not allow him to think anything else. It is not a lie, after all. You do hate him. You do._ "It is also as I said: since September after you had kissed me, my hatred for you sprung up once more. At that time, as I do now, I hated you." _Good, good. You are doing well._ "However at that moment…" _What to say, what to say?_ "Things became far more unpleasant than I thought they would be. I had a moment of weakness. It is your fault. Your reaction was…" _His reaction at that time… his face… his words… his tears… They were—_ "Too much… too similar."

 _Oh but of course he asks, 'Too similar to what?' It is the most obvious response. The question is, then, am I willing to indulge him? Surely if I continue speaking on the matter, this situation will end up being a mimic of that time. I do not want that._

 _Oh but what if I do not answer? What will he do then? Will he still leave, or urge me to answer him? Oh lord I do not want him to start troubling me once more. He said that this would be the last time, after all. Although his word_ _ **is**_ _meaningless…_

… _It is a_ _ **heavy**_ _risk, but then again…_

"Very well, then. Allow me to answer that in full. So long as you keep to your promise that this is the last that you and I will ever be in this type of situation, I will answer all of your questions."

"Keep in mind, however, that if you do not keep to your word, I will call the authorities to escort you out of my home, and file for a restraining order."

"I will _legally_ make you keep to it."

 _Good. He has sworn on it. That will protect me… hopefully…_

 _Now to answer his question…_

"The Homecoming situation was similar to… Well, as you know, Marie and I had a rather romantic relationship our sophomore year. When it ended… it did not end well. That moment weighs heavily on my heart…"

"You held a striking resemblance to her, then…"

 _How I abhor that day… I wish I did not remember it as well as I did._

 _Oh, well, yes, of course he asks me to elaborate. Of course he asks me to tell to him the very things that I have not told Marie, who was a part of that… hullabaloo. He is certainly taking advantage of my previous statement. I should have never said that I would answer all of his questions. This is already so frustrating._

 _Just put up with it, Eddward. Soon enough this whole arrangement will come to an end, and you can move on with your life. Things will be peaceful and arranged properly, once more. Just a little while longer…_

"You are _not_ to let Marie know that you are aware of any of this. I have not even told her the full story of how I felt on that day. This is simply just to get you out of my life, understand?"

"Good."

"Now, listen well: When the end of the relationship came, it was not I that did it. It was Marie. Oh. A moment of context. The relationship came about randomly. I cannot say that before that I had any intent to be with Marie in that way. I can also not say that during it, I acted… seriously. I was well aware of Marie's affection for me and her commitment to the relationship. I knew of her feelings for me. Looking back, it feels as though I took advantage of these elements — of her affection and devotion towards me. It makes me feel awful, truly."

"It started randomly. She and I had grown close, and one day we had our first mutual kiss. It occurred but a few weeks after you first kissed me, during the time I spent as much time as I could out of the cul-de-sac in order to avoid you. You were aware of that, correct? Of course you were. You left so many messages in my voicemail that whenever I did come back to my own home periodically on some business, I avoided the voicemail until I _absolutely_ had to see if any important messages came in. You are annoyingly persistent…"

"The evening after the kiss occurred, she and I conversed for a while. The gist of it centers on the dreaded conversation topic of _'What are we?'_ The conclusion, as you know, came to be in the form of the romantic relationship. During it, all seemed well. However, that is only because I did not know of Marie's true feelings. Well, no. Not her 'true' feelings. She was being truthful throughout, she simply made the choice of withholding some details from me — not that I was entitled to know of them, in the first place. I hold no ill will to her not telling me how she fully felt, beforehand. Yet at the same time… when she did tell me, I did wish that I had known prior to that moment, so that I could have offered a solution for it."

"When she told me everything — _everything_ — I was shocked. Then she told me that because of that 'everything,' she could no longer be friends with me. I was hurt. Incredibly hurt. I…"

 _You are choking up, Eddward… hold yourself together…_

"The similarity that I mentioned to you earlier comes in that, when Marie confessed to me her darkest thoughts, she looked very much like you did during your confession… Your crying face, wet voice, and much of your body language made it feel as though I were reliving that moment again. It was… I admit to losing sight of the fact that you are you, and not Marie, when that happened…"

"I hope you understand how much that moment hurt me. No. Not your confession, but Marie's — although your confession did hurt as well. Yes, I also know that you were hurt during it, too. I have not lost sight of that. Continuing on, when Marie confessed me to the way she did, and when she told me that because of that, we could no longer be friends… I was traumatized. It occurred slowly, but did so nonetheless. I could not comprehend why due to those emotions a solid relationship had to end. I did not care that the romantic context was finished — I could go on living easily without that as I did with it, and our relationship had not held such context before that kiss — what I cared about was that due to such a… silly thing, Marie and I would no longer be able to be near one another. We could no longer spend our days together, going out, staying in, having adventures, and helping one another out. I was incredibly angry. I was incredibly confused; saddened; frustrated; it seemed to be an endless tornado of negativity…"

 _Stay calm, Eddward, stay calm…_

"I never wanted to be in a situation like that again — especially not after Marie and I were finally able to reconcile the relationship through the help of Lee and May. I am eternally thankful for that. Despite all that, it did occur once more — to some extent — when you confessed to me. During that Homecoming night, I remember getting this appalling sense of déjà vu… It is why I said what I did. Hearing something such as that is 'scary' because… it felt as though I were going to relive one of my worst moments…"

 _Breathe, keep it steady, stay calm, stay calm…_

"I…"

 _Stay calm. Calm. Calm…_

"I lost myself in that fear… that is why I reacted the way I did. It is why I started to weep, and was barely able to keep myself together… I would like to take this time to once more apologize for that — as much as I hated being forced to show _you_ that side of me, I hated forcing you to see _me_ like that, more. It is… unsightly."

"Yes, well… I dislike displays such as that, nevertheless."

"Well, then, the rest of what happened that night, you know. The moment of weakness lasted far longer than I would have liked, and I… said to you that I would cooperate with you. Yes, yes. I do remember that well. Do not get me wrong. As… Truthfully, as dishonorable and disrespectful as it is, I did not intend to keep to my word, then. My way of thinking of it was, _'I was not in the right state of mind when I said what I did. There is no reason to uphold it. I was not my usual self — incapable of consenting to any such thing.'_ Yes, yes. Deplorable, I know. Even more so that I still have no regrets for doing that, and likely never will."

"Hence why I treated you the way I did, after. Then one thing led to another, and now here we are… Now, do tell me, is that enough to satisfy you? I do hope you realize the weight of all that I have just said to you…"

 _I have not even said to Marie any of this. Surely if he is able to understand that, this will be considered more than enough to fulfill my end of the bargain._

— _Goodness how emotionally overwhelming this has been. Telling him these things… my feelings… was of no easy task. I wish I could recant my statements. Ought I to tell him that that was all a lie? No. Then_ _ **that**_ _would be a lie, and surely nothing good will come from it. I just want all of this to be over. I just want to be able to move on with my life and finally be free of Kevin Barr…_

 _Ah, yes._

 _ **Of course**_ _that is not enough. How greedy, yet clever. I have sworn to and am carrying out the act of answering all of his questions, so it is only logical that he asks such a probing question._

"Have I ever felt romantically inclined towards someone other than Marie? Oh, well, allow me to guess — you specifically wish to know if I ever felt such a thing for _you_ , or perhaps in general, a member of the same sex?"

 _This had better not cause him to get riled up…_

"No. I have not."

"Specifically for you. While I have looked at other members of my sex and felt them physically attractive — the type of people with whom I would not mind being in a romantic relationship with — I cannot say that I have ever felt that for you, or even carried it out with another. It is one thing to say that a person is, well, dateable, and another to actually date them."

 _Oh, yes,_ _ **of course**_ _he would ask this next._

"No, I am _not_ homosexual…"

 _Oh. I did not think he knew of anything besides that; he likely came across that knowledge from Inez, I am sure. Unless someone else in his circle of companions was informed on the sexualities to a lesser known extent._

"I am not bisexual, either."

 _Hm… how far does his knowledge on the subject go?_

"I actually feel no sexual inclination towards anyone, truth be told. While I have had sexual experiences in the past, I feel that what drove me to be with them is nothing more than curiosity… Although there is the possibility of some being due to boredom."

"What? Of course I have had more than one sexual partner. I see. You expected me to have no experience outside of my relationship with Marie… I do not blame you. I know that with how I have chosen to present myself to others, the majority of them likely believe me to be a virgin regardless of what else they may have heard."

 _Although there are some that tease about me having a harem; as though I could ever be holder of such a thing. How messy…_

"Well, is that all?"

"Oh. If I am not homosexual or bisexual, then _what_ I am?"

"That is quite a rude way to put it — are you trying to make me hostile? I sure hope as not, as I would like the night to end without problems… Well, to answer your question, if you _must_ now my sexuality, I will tell you. I identify as being _asexual_."

 _He looks incredibly confused. So he does not know of what goes beyond the more well-known hetero and homo and bisexual identities. How simple..._

"If you wish to know more about it, ask Inez. I for one refuse to assist in your understanding of such a simple construct. I am also certain she would be much more capable at explaining it to you in a way that you would be able to understand. Is that all, then? I feel as though I have answered, in full, your questions. I would also very much like to rest now."

 _Leave already._

 _You have been in my home for far too long._

— _How odd._

 _The last time you were in my home was years ago…_

 _Well, no use in thinking of that now. This will be the absolute last time I allow you to step foot through my front doorway. When you leave, Barr, I will_ _ **finally**_ _be at peace — something I look forward to very much._

 _Hurry up now, collect your things and leave. I care not for your apologies or anything of the sort. Just leave._

 _Yes, just like that._ _ **Leave**_ _._

"Yes. Fare thee well, Kevin Barr. Make sure to keep to your promise."

 _Yes._ _ **Finally**_ _. I am free of him._

 _Goodness that was stressful. Thankfully I managed to maintain my cool while he was here. How civil he and I managed to be. For that I am very thankful._

… _How odd, though. That earlier thought on him not having been in my home, now has me reminiscing on the subject. What did we use to do when he was here? Ah, yes. Now I remember. We would either converse or study or entertain ourselves in some way. Oh. There was a time he tried to talk me into getting an entertainment system to play videogames — a dreadful thought, really… Although…_

 _No, no. There is no use in thinking of this now. What is done, is done. Now all that is left is to move forward and continue living the life that I want. I have no time looking back on the past. I need to prepare for my future._

 _Perhaps tomorrow I ought to spend some time working on the applications for my target universities?_

 _Yes. That would be best to do._

* * *

There you have it. Eddward's full confession on various subjects. The "end" of his and Kevin's current relationship. No more cat and mouse.

Next Chapter: A very long chapter meant for exposition on Eddward's character, and his beliefs. It is time to explain why this rendition of Eddward is the way he is, and his motives, before moving on to the new "arc".

 _Please review!_

Updates every **Monday and Friday**.

~ Inkle


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